Residents demand speed cameras on busy Godalming road

Godalming residents are urging Surrey County Council to install new speed cameras on a major road to combat reports of “dangerous speeding”.

A petition has been launched calling on the council to put average speed cameras on Portsmouth Road in a bid to improve traffic safety.

The petitioners want the average speed zone to span from Tesco Express all the way to the junction with Eashing Lane, claiming that cars constantly break the speed limit on this route.

Calling for urgent measures from Surrey County Council, they said the restriction is required “due to dangerous speeding occurring daily which endangers residents, foot traffic and other road users”.

Unlike typical fixed speed cameras, which record a vehicle’s speed at a specific spot on the road, average speed cameras will monitor when one enters and exits a wider zone.

It will calculate how long that vehicle took to get from the entry to exit of the average speed zone, and issue a fine if its speed exceeds the limit for that area.

Surrey County Council works alongside Surrey Police to manage traffic safety measures in the county, which includes monitoring traffic speed and planning mitigation and enforcement measures.

“We work closely with Surrey Police to develop local speed management plans for each of Surrey’s eleven districts or boroughs,” the council’s website says.

“Our road safety specialists meet periodically with Surrey Police’s specialists to discuss and agree which sites need the most attention, and what the most appropriate intervention will be.”

A total of 44 people have signed the Godalming petition at time of writing.

When approached for comment, a Surrey County Council spokesperson said: “We will consider the petition carefully and provide a formal response after it has been submitted. 

“At the present time the county council, in agreement with Surrey Police, is in the process of implementing more average speed cameras at the following locations before the end of the financial year.”