THE controversial £16,000 rural gateway in Whitchurch Road was over-optimistic and experimental, councillors admitted at a meeting in Okehampton last week.
The new section of single track carriageway and passing places was introduced in the spring as a traffic calming measure, encouraging motorists to use the main A386.
It was damaged by drivers passing over the grass verges within days of opening and criticised by local people as dangerous.
This autumn a further £10,000 was spent trying to improve the gateway.
At West Devon partnership meeting in Okehampton last week, Cllr Gretta Madigan, chairman and strong supporter of the rural gateway, admitted mistakes had been made.
'We were too optimistic in the first place. Hopefully, when it has time to recover it will look a lot better. It is in a way experimental traffic calming that doesn't look like lots of roadworks.
'We didn't tell people well enough what was happening — that's a lesson we need to learn,' she said.
Cllr Madigan said the police were happy with the scheme and blamed 'drivers' errors' for problems in the area, rather than the scheme itself.
She said the scheme would be reviewed and minor amendments would be taken on board.
Pat Warne, borough and Tavistock town councillor, said 'very few people' supported the new system.
She said: 'We are in an age of consultation with the public, but many people who have been complaining feel they have not been heard.
'It's quite clear to me that some of those lay-bys are not in the right position. Nobody is quite sure who has got right of way and now that people can't get out of the way it's made matters even worse.'
And Tavistock borough councillor Dick Eberlie asked for more communication with the public, town and parish councils affected by the new road layout and speed limits.
'I would like to feel we are dealing constructively by asking for full consultation — we could do a lot to reassure people that we are trying to find out the real effects of this rural gateway before a final decision is made on it,' he said.
The committee agreed the temporary extension of the 30mph speed limit from the northern side of the gateway to the southern side should become permanent.
The scheme will be monitored and a full report submitted to the committee after 12 months.