After winning massive support in a parish poll, Studland is the next village in Purbeck to apply to lower the speed limit through its streets to 20 miles an hour.
And at the same time, a long awaited pedestrian crossing could finally be installed near Studland Village Stores after Dorset Council officers agreed it was badly needed.
Studland’s main road is on the route to the ferry with many rushing to catch the next departure
Vehicles clocked at up to 54 mph
Speeding cars and cyclists frequently cause a hazard in the village, especially for residents crossing the road to the local shop, as vehicles have been clocked at speeds of up to 54 miles an hour heading towards the ferry.
Parish councillors are expecting to get more information in September 2024 about a time scale for the installation of either a zebra crossing or a fully automated light controlled crossing.
And in the meantime, they have submitted an application for Studland to be included in the second phase of Dorset villages aiming to become the next in line for a lower speed limit.
In July 2024, Langton Matravers became the first village in rural Dorset to introduce a 20 miles an hour limit with a dozen speed signs put up through its centre, followed closely by Winfrith Newburgh and with Bridport, Wimborne and Pimperne also in the pipeline.
It is thought that at least another six communities will be added to the list during 2024/25 and Studland Parish Council believes that it has a stronger claim than most to rise to the top of the list.
Dorset police officers helped Studland’s speedwatch team collect data
Speed watch team helped by police
A Studland survey held in July 2024 drew responses from 167 villagers, of whom 164 were in favour of lowering the current 30 mph speed limit between Hill Close and the Knoll House Hotel.
And frequent patrols by the Studland community speed watch team, sometimes supported by Purbeck police, have regularly recorded between 15 and 20 cars per session travelling at 40 mph or more.
This data had to be submitted before the village could be considered eligible for a lower legal speed limit.
Roads around Studland Stores and Post Office are usually busy with pedestrians
Response was 98 percent in favour
Now Studland Parish Council has officially passed a motion calling on Dorset to introduce a 20 mph speed limit between Pavilion House on Ferry Road and Hill Close on Swanage Road ‘as soon as possible’.
Chair of Studland Parish Council Nick Boulter said:
“Whenever we have an annual parish meeting, the number one issue is always speeding traffic through the village.
“We know that community backing is needed for a 20 miles an hour speed limit, so we ran a survey a month ago and although we are a small village, we had a big response with 98 percent of those who answered in favour.
“It’s not a particularly long stretch of road, but we feel that a lower speed limit will make life a lot safer for residents.
“Vehicles regularly speed through the one main road in the village either to or from the ferry. Most of the villagers live on one side, but to visit the local shop they have to cross the road, which is quite dangerous.”
Tyre marks on Studland’s main road suggest that traffic exceeds the current 30 mph limit
“Pedestrian crossing now approved”
Nick Boulter added:
“As a commitment to the scheme, the parish council has offered to contribute towards the cost of introducing the lower speed limit, which is mostly the cost of new signage.
“For the past couple of years we have also been trying to get a pedestrian crossing which has now been approved by Dorset Council, who came out, did all their surveys and agreed that one was badly needed.
“It’s a question of getting that into their budget and then into their planned schedule of roadworks. It will be somewhere near the shop, although we don’t yet know whether it will be a zebra crossing or the full business with lights.”
While many cyclists respect the speed limits through Studland, others create an additional traffic problem
Speed humps put on back burner
A third traffic calming measure for Studland – speed humps – has been put on the back burner for the moment in order to concentrate on a lower speed limit and a pedestrian crossing.
However, locals are still keen on having the extra measure in the near future to deal with a specific traffic problem in Studland.
Cyclists, who are not legally bound to stick to a 20 mph limit, can whizz through the village trying to achieve the fastest possible speed to top a challenge table on the cycling app Strava – so far, 98,000 attempts have been made.
One of many speed trials across the UK on Strava is called Ferry Sprint and measures cyclists’ average speed between the Isle of Purbeck Golf Club and the toll booths at the end of Ferry Road.
The top 10 cyclists on what Strava calls its ‘leaderboard’ have all completed the run in an average of at least 28 miles an hour, with the named cyclist at the top of the table having clocked an average speed of 31 mph.
Studland parish council wants a 20 mph zone to run from Pavilion House on Ferry Road to Hill Close on Swanage Road
“I’ve seen cyclists going well over 40mph”
Nick Boulter said:
“They come charging down the road – I’ve seen cyclists going well over 40 mph when they are entering a 30 mph speed zone and they hurtle through the village and will hurl abuse at people crossing the road to tell them to get out of the way.
“Some of the elderly residents are quite upset and annoyed by it, they are trying to cross the road, looking out for cars, and then suddenly a cyclist will appear out of nowhere.
“The cyclists have no intention of slowing down or braking for pedestrians, as all they want to do is to get to the ferry in the shortest possible time.
“However, we have been advised to withdraw a request for speed humps for the time being to focus on a pedestrian crossing which will hopefully have a similar effect.”
Sarah Ferguson, Chris Stow, Lynette Hool and Peter Hool are some of Studland’s dozen speedwatch volunteers
“We have data to prove speed is a problem”
Studland parish councillor Lyn Hool has led the village’s community speed watch since April 2023 and said that in 27 one-hour sessions of monitoring traffic through the village, some 8,000 vehicles had been recorded, of which 208 were travelling at 35 mph or more.
The fastest vehicle, a motorcycle, was clocked at 57 miles an hour and was subsequently reported to and fined by the police.
Lyn Hool said:
“We have a lot of data to prove that a large volume of traffic goes through the village and speeding is a regular problem. Cyclists are a separate problem, but we hope that a pedestrian crossing will slow them down.
“It is a busy thoroughfare by the village shop and Studland does have quite a high elderly population who need to get to the shop and post office.
“If someone is doing serious speed as they come over the hill into the village, pedestrians can be halfway across the road and get taken by surprise. There have been a number of near misses – we are lucky that no one has been injured or worse.
“It’s the main route to the ferry and drivers often race to get there if they think they are late.”
Further information
- More about the introduction of 20 mph limits by Dorset Council
