NEW speed humps on two main roads into Wallingford could cut traffic by a quarter, according to county council figures.

Oxfordshire County Council is consulting on plans to install 17 new pairs of speed cushions – small humps with space in the middle of the road between them – on Wallingford’s Wantage Road and The Street, Crowmarsh Gifford.

County councillor Rodney Rose said he hoped the measures would cut the traffic using Wallingford as a shortcut instead of using the A4130.

Studies say similar projects have cut traffic by up to 25 per cent, the council said.

Experts have already said town centre traffic is causing a pollution problem.

Emissions of nitrogen dioxide, linked to long-term lung damage, have been measured at levels above European safety standards.

A public consultation into plans for the two roads has been launched.

Wallingford Town Council, which is backing the plans, wants to use the consultation to restart the fight to restrict parking on Wantage Road, which forces drivers to drive on the wrong side of the road as they leave the town.

In 2005, a six-year campaign to make the road safer ended in failure when the county council, after lobbying from residents, shelved the town council’s plans to stop parked cars clogging the road.

Wallingford mayor Dee Cripps said: “This is a serious accident waiting to happen, and it has got a lot worse since the Blue Mountains development was built.

“I use the road a lot, and when you get backed up behind the parked cars you tend to accelerate as you go up the hill when you can get through.”

Town clerk Andrew Rogers said a traffic collision in September 2006 had shown the “inherent danger” of the current situation.

A hundred and sixty new homes at Blue Mountains and Station Road have increased traffic since 2005, while more houses are expected to be built near Slade End roundabout in coming years.

The town council has urged the public who think parking should be restricted to write to its offices, in the hope that people power will persuade county highways chiefs to change their mind.

Residents in Wantage Road and The Street can send their views on the speed hump plans to Andrew Madigan at Jacobs Engineering, Park House, Haddenham Business Park, Thame Road, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8LB or andrew.madigan@jacobs.com