Portsmouth road set for speed bumps as it's found to be worst for speeding in the city

Langstone Road has been prioritised for improvements by Portsmouth City Council after surveys revealed most motorists were travelling above the 20mph speed limit.

‘It’s the fastest road in the city when you compare the speed people drive at to the speed limit at certain times of the day,' cabinet member for transport Lynne Stagg said. 'It's scored the highest in terms of action being needed and that's what we're looking at doing.’

The week-long survey was carried out in March and found its 85th percentile speed to be 32.2mph eastbound and 31.7mph westbound.

Accident data has recorded five crashes on the road in the last five year causing three slight injuries and two serious injuries. Four of the five victims were cyclists.

Fifty roads in the city have been surveyed in response to public safety concerns with Langstone Road scoring highest for requiring intervention.

As a result, plans have been drawn up to install speed cushions on it.

‘A number of different options were assessed at this location, such as improved signage and lines; vehicle-activated signage; and speed bumps, humps, cushions and chicanes,' a report published ahead of Cllr Stagg's decision-making meeting on Thursday says.

‘Due to the severity of the speeding issues noted, and the presence of on-street parking, it has been determined that the installation of rubber speed cushions is the most adequate solution at this location to address the speeding issues.’

Funding will be taken from the council's parking reserve and some of its transport budget.

‘We are doing what we can in terms of the budget we have but it is expensive and it's only been getting worse recently,’ Cllr Stagg added. ‘The cost of some equipment has gone up 20 per cent.’

She said this had prompted the council to pre order material for future schemes where construction has yet to start, including the Eastern Road cycle path.

In 2019 an FoI request from car manufacturer Citroen found that Portsmouth had second highest percentage of roads covered by bumps in the country. Thirteen per cent of roads had bumps and cushions, which outside London was only exceeded by Norwich. Bumps were on 36.35 miles of Portsmouth's roads, out of a total 284.6 miles.