ROAD humps being created in and around Victoria Road in Dorchester to slow traffic are so gentle they 'wouldn’t bother a child’s toy car', according to one resident.

The work is part of a scheme to introduce a 20mph speed limit and stop drivers using roads in the area as rat-runs to avoid no turns which were introduced at the nearby Great Western Cross junction.

The 20mph speed limit is due to come into force today. It will cover the entire lengths of Victoria Rd, St Helen’s Rd, Westover Road and part of Albert Road.

But several residents doubt if the engineering measures are likely to be much of a deterrent and have approached Dorset Council to beef up its humps and raised tables.

“It’s bonkers. They wouldn’t bother a Dinky toy,” said one Victoria Road resident.

Dorset Council has been contacted about the gentle slopes but says they have to be limited to the maximum height of the kerb, which due to re-surfacing over the years, is now less than 3 inches tall in places.

Residents have been told by the council that road engineers will try and address the issue, raising kerb heights in some areas if they can.

David Sharman, who has been representing residents' views to the council, said he and his neighbours remain hopeful the scheme will work and did not want to criticise: “Dorset Council have long accepted that rat-running traffic through Victoria Road exceeds both acceptable volumes and acceptable speeds.

"This situation predates the changes at the Great Western junction, and that it has since further deteriorated. The council have worked closely with all the local residents over several years to try to resolve this, including introducing an access-only order which means that rat-running in this way is simply illegal.

"The current phase of works will introduce a 20mph speed limit and various traffic calming measures. As residents we are keen to let the professionals in Dorset Council deliver on their commitment, and we look forwards to the implementation of effective traffic calming measures.”

Work on the scheme is shortly to finish, with council staff now creating the final ‘raised table’ outside the fish and chip shop at the junction between Damers Road and Victoria Road.

A hump has also been placed two-thirds of the way up Victoria Road and a raised table at the junction with Cornwall Road/Albert Road.

Another raised table has been put in place at the Westover Road-Cornwall Road junction which, say residents, is so gentle that most drivers are unlikely to even notice it.

Dorset Council has told residents they will return to this towards the end of the works and, if possible, reconstruct the hump and adjust the kerb lines to get a more pronounced slope.