My home is literally CRACKING as cars hurtle over new speed bumps sending shocks down road – council is stealing sleep
LORRIES and HGVs hurtling over recently installed speed bumps are causing cracks in homes, residents claim.
The impact of vehicles - some up to 4.7 tonnes - send shock waves rippling into nearby properties in Chingford, East London.
As well as alleged structural damage some say the chaos leaves them unable to sleep.
Fabio Riviecco, 36, has lived on Endlebury Road for a number of years and did up his home in 2016.
But he's already got a three foot long crack on a road-facing wall which he blames on heavy vehicles thundering past.
He told The Sun: "When a big vehicle comes across you hear massive shakes on the house and also on the vehicles outside.
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"If it's a lorry or skip carrier, you'll hear it bashing and it does make you wonder.
"There are cracks and very slight movement and I think that's what's caused them."
Fabio is one of a number of residents who told The Sun speed bumps on his road are too small and encourage motorists to break the 20mph limit.
Terry Lloyd, 83, has lived on Endlebury Road since 1989 and is also pro the speed-quelling road mounds as it slows traffic down and prevents accidents.
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The grandfather's house has never endured structural damage but he wants bigger speed bumps and speed cameras.
He explained: "It's only people that go fast that cause trouble.
"Not that long ago there were four youngsters speeding down and wrecked three or four parked cars. There was a car upside down here five or six years ago."
On nearby Old Church Road a team of activists launched a petition to instead reduce the size of the bumps.
They claim the impact of busses, lorries and HGVs travelling over the top and crashing down the other side has also caused cracks in their homes and makes their ornaments shake.
Shanta Prasad, who lives on the road, told as soon as the bumps were installed two years ago her "our houses started to shake".
She added: "I can’t sleep at night. I’ve been referred to the insomnia clinic. Sometimes all I want to do is cry.”
The issues have become such a problem that Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the MP for Chingford, raised it in Parliament last Tuesday.
He said: “I have talked to residents who are genuinely deeply stressed by what has happened since heavy speed bumps have been put in place in 20mph or even higher speed zones."
Highways regulations say bumps should be no less than 25mm high and no more than 100mm - forcing cars to drive 5mph to avoid damage.
A bus comes through Old Church Road every six to nine minutes during the day, starting at 4.46am while a night bus also uses the street.
Larry Relfe, 75, has lived on the road for decades.
He told The Sun: "These people's houses, they literally shake. We can feel that a bit when you get an HGV come along.
"One neighbour says their ornaments shake."
He says the bumps are also damaging busses and fears the long term cost of damage to public transport will outweigh the saving initiative of installing bumps instead of speed cameras.
Back on Endlebury Road, Tony Hall, who arrived in June 1971, wants more weight restrictions to bring an end to the "juggernaut" vehicles that chug through daily.
The 77-year-old said he's got minor cracks in his house and thinks it could be linked to the traffic.
Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Air Quality for Waltham Forest Council, said: “The safety of all road users is a top priority. Waltham Forest Council has been implementing a 20mph speed limit across the borough for over 30 years in response to requests from residents and localised consultations.
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“We are not permitted by law to use cameras to enforce the speed limit. Earlier this year the Government blocked Wandsworth Council’s trial scheme of using cameras to issue fines for speeding. This leaves speedbumps as the only enforcement method available to councils.
Multiple studies have found road humps are unlikely to cause significant damage to buildings. We do know for sure that vehicles travelling at speed cause significant damage to people. We also know our measures are working - the number of people killed and seriously injured on the borough’s roads has fallen from 97 in 2018 to 70 in 2022.”
