A SCHEME to put the brakes on speeding drivers around Petersfield has been re-booted by a town councillor.
The Speed Limit Reminder (SLR) sign which stood blank for years on Bell Hill is operational again after being repaired by Jamie Matthews.
The electronic device – one of two bought by Petersfield Town Council (PTC) around five years ago – displays the message ‘30: slow down’ if approaching vehicles exceed the speed limit.
It’s now set for a tour of the town’s speeding hotspots after surprising drivers on Bell Hill for the last fortnight.
But the other is heading to the scrapheap as it’s “beyond economical repair”, according to Town Clerk Neil Hitch.
The return might seem disappointing given that PTC spent around £3,000 on the devices on behalf of a volunteer group less than a decade ago.
There were technological issues from the start while interest from the volunteer group started to drop as a result.
Councillor Matthews believes the signs were something of a ‘prototype’ and weren’t right for the volunteer group, being quite heavy and cumbersome.
But, as he represents the Bell Hill area on PTC, he decided to attempt a repair, with the device now getting a new lease of life.
He said: “There were operational issues with them and they went silent for a few years.
“I picked up the gauntlet because it’s in my ward and I’m quite keen to help address the problem of speeding, particularly on Bell Hill and Winchester Road.
“It’s been operational for a couple of weeks and it’s proving quite effective. It’s reminding people what the limit on that road is.”
The data collected by the device has also reminded PTC and the police how much of a problem speeding is on Bell Hill with a “significant” number of motorists exceeding 40mph and 50mph on the road.
The figures recorded also reinforce the need for police to continue their routine speed checks on the road.
Cllr Matthews, who repaired the device free of charge through his Isambard Systems consultancy, had two options: either investigate the feasibility of bringing them into use or getting rid of them.
He added: “I think several people have attempted to get them working but the technology used in these models has been long superseded and the original manufacturer didn’t want to support them.
“My own personal view is that they were a little bit of a prototype.
“There were wiring issues and the radar detector had failed, and it required a bit of tech understanding but one has been fixed.
“The plan going forward is to get the Petersfield Town Council grounds team to move them around town.”