RESIDENTS of a Gunnislake street are campaigning for a reduction in the speed limit to protect their children and the elderly who are 'taking their lives into their own hands' when they go outside their doors. Mother-of-two Catherine Turner, who raised the issue at Calstock Parish Council's meeting last week, said vehicles were travelling along Calstock Road off the main street doing at least 40 or 50mph in a 30mph zone. Mrs Turner said: 'People coming from the Tavistock direction tend to continue at the same speed coming into this road. 'There are no pavements and we all open our front doors onto the road. The speed limit needs to be reduced to 20mph.' Mrs Turner said she had lived on Calstock Road for 14 years and there had always been a problems with vehicles speeding. 'I think it has got worse more recently but that's maybe because I have two young children now and am more aware of it. 'We get big lorries coming down here that go just as fast. I have even phoned companies like Dairy Crest to ask their drivers to slow down but I don't catch the number plates because they are so fast.' With terraced houses and old people's bungalows along the road, Mrs Turner said she could not understand why Calstock Road was not 20mph like most of Gunnislake was. 'This is the road to the playpark as well and people are taking their lives into their own hands when they walk along it,' she said. The resident said she had contacted both the police and highways and claimed they 'passed the buck'. 'I have been trying to get something done for eight months but no-one seems to want to take responsibility,' she said. Calstock Parish Council has agreed to write a letter to Cornwall County Highways, but said getting the speed limit reduced was not a simple matter as it required a motion in Parliament. Cllr Mike Greenwood said this was a narrow piece of road and right opposite the church car park. 'Cars park along the road which make it even narrower,' he said. 'It would be a good thing if we could get this sorted, even if it is not a reduction in the speed limit maybe some sort of traffic calming could be put in.' Police community support officer Mark Stribley said even if a 20mph speed limit was put in place, people might still ignore it. 'It might be possible that the 20mph could be extended down Calstock Road, but it would have to be requested by a lot of people and is likely to take two years to happen,' he said. He said he could put a case forward for some speed monitoring in that area. 'The problem on Calstock Road is not so much the speed limit itself as the enforcing of it,' he added. A spokesperson for Cornwall County Council said each county council member had a small budget to spend in their areas on traffic regulation orders and anyone with concerns about a particular street or road should contact their local member.
