The problem

If you knew David Matika, an elderly resident of Saltram Crescent who went into a home 4 years ago, he may have told you about a Saltram Crescent he moved into in the 20's with no cars in it.

Today:

• The street is a rat run/short cut.
• It's not wide enough for two way traffic
• We could do with more parking
• Nearly every day there's an argument or a fight
• There have been terrible accidents.

It's time to do SOMETHING before it's too late.

Too much traffic

A lot has change since David's time. Parking controls were added about 14 years ago and now it'is often hard to park at all with most houses converted to flats with as many as four or six cars per house - that's four or six cars per space out front. That's a lot of cars.

Two way traffic

With cars parked either side of the road, it is almost impossible for cars to pass, let alone all the big delivery vehicles too. As a result tempers fray with everyone in a hurry and many residents tell stories about stand offs and even how they've had to break up fights between drivers who refuse to budge. It's not nice for us or our children.

Speeding traffic

There's no doubting it. Saltram Crescent is a rat run, a short cut for traffic from the top of Fernhead Road to Shirland Road. It cuts the corner and avoids a number of functions and buses on Fernhead Road.

The arrogance of these drivers is beyond belief. They sound their horns and flash their lights - as if anyone is going to see or hear them. It gives them a false sense of security so they just go faster. Residents regularly hear screeching types and brakes of near misses and the ensuing shouting and screaming of angry motorists. If you stop them and challenge them, they think you're the lunatic!

Cars, mini cabs and vans speed down Saltram Crescent, with no regard for anyone who might be crossing - a child, an elderly person of people with learning difficulties attending Westminster College. It's called a crescent because it curves - drivers can't see who crossing. Until it's too late.

We've had many near misses. Someone IS going to get hurt if we and the council don't do something about it.

Crashing traffic

In around 1998, a speeding car lost control heading south down Saltram Crescent and smashed into 6 cars on the outside bend (top always park in the inside). It narrowly avoided two residents who has just crossed the road and put the key in their front door. They would have been killed 30 seconds earlier.

About 3 weeks before Christmas 2013 two cars collided causing serious damage. At the time of writing two are still in the street awaiting collection and repair.

Then a week before Christmas a large Mercedes car completely smashed its front in when it hit a car that has come right out of Malvern Place and had its wheel ripped off. The smaller car contained 4 ladies who all miraculously escaped serious injury.

When questioned by a resident, the driver of the Mercedes said he was rushing to get his child to school! How fast was he going to cause that damage? Maybe the police can tell us?