HATS off this morning to residents Hazel Chinn and Steve Brown for their tireless efforts to have pedestrian crossings installed on Ombersley Road in a bid to cut traffic speeds.

We're tempted to say that the 500-name petition they've handed to city council officials will be the irresistible catalyst for action.

But we know a complex formula pitting pedestrian numbers against traffic flow will decide whether lights go up, not the weight of local opinion.

There are reasons to be optimistic, though, as Droitwich Road proves. It has been tamed by lights and roundabouts and a clearly-defined speed limit. So, why not Ombersley Road, too?

There are also reasons to regard it as one part of a wider need, coming - as it does - so soon after Astwood Road residents also called for action in the wake of an accident in which a child was injured.

It surely marks this as the time when the benefits of a city-wide 20mph speed limit are discussed on a wider front.

Common sense - and human nature - says that the bulk of those drivers speeding are coming into the city off roads carrying much higher limits.

Much has been done to tame feeder routes with the county-wide 40mph village limits. But more needs to follow.

Traffic travelling out of the city is another problem - outside of the rush-hour, that is.

However, we're convinced the conditions which threaten to strangle Worcester between 4.30pm and 6.30pm each night would also be alleviated by the more docile flow of traffic created by 20mph signs.

We're also convinced it has to come. The thousands who find themselves agreeing with Hazel Chinn and Steve Brown will be the prompt for that. As they should be.

HATS off this morning to residents Hazel Chinn and Steve Brown for their tireless efforts to have pedestrian crossings installed on Ombersley Road in a bid to cut traffic speeds.

We're tempted to say that the 500-name petition they've handed to city council officials will be the irresistible catalyst for action.

But we know a complex formula pitting pedestrian numbers against traffic flow will decide whether lights go up, not the weight of local opinion.

There are reasons to be optimistic, though, as Droitwich Road proves. It has been tamed by lights and roundabouts and a clearly-defined speed limit. So, why not Ombersley Road, too?

There are also reasons to regard it as one part of a wider need, coming - as it does - so soon after Astwood Road residents also called for action in the wake of an accident in which a child was injured.

It surely marks this as the time when the benefits of a city-wide 20mph speed limit are discussed on a wider front.

Common sense - and human nature - says that the bulk of those drivers speeding are coming into the city off roads carrying much higher limits.

Much has been done to tame feeder routes with the county-wide 40mph village limits. But more needs to follow.

Traffic travelling out of the city is another problem - outside of the rush-hour, that is.

However, we're convinced the conditions which threaten to strangle Worcester between 4.30pm and 6.30pm each night would also be alleviated by the more docile flow of traffic created by 20mph signs.

We're also convinced it has to come. The thousands who find themselves agreeing with Hazel Chinn and Steve Brown will be the prompt for that. As they should be.