HIGHWAYS chiefs have today agreed to look into problems of speeding on the edge of Felixstowe and come up with safety proposals.

Drivers have been accused of ignoring the 30mph limit which comes into force on the edge of the town – and then carrying on their speeding in roads such as Grove Road, Beatrice Avenue, and Colneis Road, where drivers have been caught doing more than 70mph.

Beatrice and Colneis are both roads crossed by youngsters on their way to and from school.

The speeding problem is said to be caused by the lack of clear signs at the Grove Road, Garrison Lane and Candlet Road roundabout – and the design of the junction encourages drivers to go over it at speed from 60mph Candlet Road into 30mph Grove Road.

Allotment holders first highlighted the problem, claiming it was too treacherous for them to reach their plots at Cowpasture.

Part of the problem is also that the roundabout is almost entirely used by traffic travelling in and out of town.

But a handful of times each day, gardeners turn right from Grove Road or go straight on from Garrison Lane to reach Cowpasture allotments, and they say there have been several near misses from cars coming from Ipswich having to screech to a halt, not having expected traffic to cross their path.

Graham Newman, chairman of the Felixstowe highways advisory committee, said: “The situation is that the 30mph sign is being ignored because of the lack of traffic from Garrison Lane and the profile of the road.

“The highways department has now agreed to look into the possibility of improving signage, perhaps painting 30mph roundels on the road to reinforce the message about the speed limit.

“The 30mph limit at this point protects the whole of Felixstowe and there have been a lot of complaints from residents in Colneis Road about speed because you only get one warning on the edge of town and repeater signs are not allowed.”

If roundels are not appropriate, the existing signs may be moved further back or extra ones added.

East area highways manager Derek Oldham is to carry out an investigation and report back to the committee.