New traffic calming measures are planned to address fears over the safety of a major road in Devizes.

The pedestrian crossing near St Peter’s Church will be upgraded to a light controlled crossing and a new crossing is planned on the other side of Prison Bridge, on the lower half of Bath Road.

The proposals have been submitted by the town council to Wiltshire Council following years of crashes and speeding complaints.

Councillor Ian Wallis said: “There is concern on Bath Road and Dunkirk Hill that there is a lot of speeding in that area.

“A dog was recently run over outside The Black Horse pub, for example.

“Of course, it’s an extremely busy road so the town council are looking at upgrading the crossing at St Peters school to have a light controlled crossing.

“We’re also looking at a pedestrian crossing on the other side of prison bridge, the lower half of Bath Road.”

“The crossings will help slow down the traffic. The only thing we can really do is put physical things in the way to slow it down.”

The plans will be considered by Wiltshire Council at the April meeting of the Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group where the town council will be invited to present the requests.

More than 100 people from Devizes recently signed a petition to introduce traffic calming measures on Bath Road.

The response from Wiltshire Council said it was up to the police to deal with speeding enforcement and the only way to introduce the measures was at the April meeting.

Traffic engineering manager Gareth Rogers said in response to the petition: “Concerns associated with speeding vehicles remain the responsibility of Wiltshire Police as the enforcement agency.

“To aid local communities to play an active role in assisting with enforcement, Wiltshire Police have established a community Speed Watch initiative, supported by Wiltshire Council.”

Speeding has been a concern on Bath Road for years and there was a fatal accident on Prison Bridge in 2018.

A driver killed a young mother who was a passenger in his car when he crashed over the bridge after drinking with friends.

Karly Heweson, 21, was killed and her friend was seriously injured after the car went through the railings of the bridge.

Bradley Hayden, 26, who was driving the car was found to be over the drink-drive limit.

Hayden, of Park Field, Devizes, was jailed for four years and disqualified from driving for five years.