WHILE many elderly residents would be content to relax and enjoy life after retirement, a number of pensioners from Witney are taking direct action to tackle traffic problems in the town.

The group from Riverside Gardens proved they were far from over the hill by taking to the streets for 12 hours to count the number of vehicles passing their home.

They say the high volumes are damaging the road and making it difficult for people to get to the church.

These results, which showed a total of 9,848 vehicles used that part of Mill Street between 7am and 7pm on Wednesday, to lobby Witney Town Council and Witney MP David Cameron for support.

The group used a clicker system devised by 79-year-old resident Derek Harlow to count vehicles passing their independent living estate.

Broken down, the final figures revealed that, over the course of the 12-hour survey, Riverside Gardens was passed by 8,649 cars and small vans, 979 large vans and small lorries, and 220 large lorries.

Chairman of the Riverside Gardens residents association Ken Smith, 77, said the group would like to see the speed limit on the road reduced from 30mph to 20mph, in addition to resurfacing work.

Mr Smith said: “I’ve been here eight years and it’s been going on all the time I’ve been here.

“Some of the very elderly residents feel unsafe. We’d like to see a reduced speed limit, and many of the residents would like to see a nearer crossing.”

District councillor for Witney Andrew Coles and the town’s county councillor, Laura Price, were there on the day to participate in the survey and offer support to the residents.

Mr Coles, who monitored traffic on the road between 9am and 10am on the day, told the Oxford Mail said the stretch of road had been a problem for a long time.

He said: “For a number of years we’ve had massive problems using this part of the road.

“We wanted to help try and do something constructive, which needs concrete facts and evidence.

“We’ll take the results of this 12-hour survey and present it to Witney Town Council’s traffic advisory committee.”

The group hope they can use the information on the survey to encourage the town council to push for solutions to the problems. They also intend to send the results to former Prime Minister Mr Cameron to request his support on the matter.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council, the authority responsible for highways, said: “We’re always happy to receive representations from local people.

“We’re sure they’ll want to get in touch with us directly to articulate the points they want to bring to our attention.”