A solution could be in sight for a Suffolk town blighted for a long period by lorries too big for its small town centre streets that hit buildings and endanger pedestrians.
Suffolk County Council is holding a public consultation about plans to introduce an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) in Eye, which will restrict lorries to only travel into the town centre to service shops and businesses.
READ MORE: Lorries to be banned from driving through Eye town centre
However, farm vehicles are set to be excluded from the restrictions, while a 7.5 tonne weight limit will be imposed in a number of roads around the town, including Magdalen Street, Lowgate Street, Castle Street and The Rookery.
Eye town councillor Tunie Brandon, who is supporting the restrictions, said if the 18 month experimental TRO was successful, there was a chance it could be made permanent.
She said there had been instances of lorry wing mirrors knocking the hats off pedestrians' heads as the 'huge' lorries travelled along roads that were no more than 14ft across.
READ MORE: Poulter adds his voice to calls to reduce HGV traffic in Eye town centre
"It is pinch points in the road. We have got places where two cars can't get past each other. Houses were shaking and basically people were getting quite anxious walking around town and getting woken at night," she added.
However, under the plans, delivery vehicles will still be able to access the town centre, along with combine harvesters and tractors.
"Mostly, it is a safety issue. The lorry drivers themselves are exceptionally skilled in getting through these roads.
"However, we have had buildings and cars being hit and fences being bashed, so we are just amazed that nobody has been injured.
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"It is just some roads are too small for the size of the vehicles now."
The situation in the town has been a long-running issue with surveys being held to seek a solution and Central Suffolk MP Dan Poulter backing calls for a review of the number of lorries.
The public consultation started on Tuesday May 16 and will last for an initial six months, with the possibility of a further six months dependant on feedback and traffic data obtained from the council’s monitoring plan.
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