When a child was knocked down on Beech Croft Road, the residents decided something had to be done.
But rather than ask the council for some ‘ugly, authoritarian’ road markings to make slow cars down, they decided they could encourage drivers to respect the street instead.
So the 50 households began fundraising, and soon there was enough money for a more original range of traffic calming devices.
Instead of speed humps, the residents created ‘welcome’ mats at either end of the road, using a material similar to artificial turf.
And instead of a plethora of signs, they installed giant plant pots – one featuring the grinning face of the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland – which light up in headlights.
Hanging baskets that light up at night and fluorescent tiles on houses also helped to create the look, which the residents in Summerton, Oxfordshire, hope will encourage drivers to obey the 20mph speed limit.
Artist and illustrator Ted Dewan, 49, said: ‘I think the best thing about it is our sense of ownership over the road. When you’re in a place where you’re welcome as a guest, you treat it with respect and the research suggests this will happen.
‘It’s not a traffic corridor any more, it’s more like a living space.'
'Everything is someone’s idea that has grown into something, including the Cheshire Cat, which was the idea of eight-year-old Olivia Morgan.'
At £10,000, the measures cost the same as three speed humps.
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