Laffan Street residents have won their battle to get traffic calming measures after pressuring the Corporation of Hamilton with a petition.

The issue came to a head earlier this month after three-year-old Najee Lambert was knocked over by a car and suffered cuts and bruises.

His mother Tsehay, and her family have been campaigning for years to get a speed bump after saying motorists used Laffan Street as a short cut out of town.

Now the Corporation of Hamilton have agreed to put in a raised pedestrian crossing about 20 yards from the junction with Canal Road.

Corporation Secretary Roger Sherratt said the work would be done in the next couple of weeks.

He said the location of the raised crossing wasn't quite where residents wanted it but it had to be located where it would be off some use rather than linking two walls as a simple speed bump.

"The Government policy is they don't agree with speed bumps on public roads," said Mr. Sherratt. He said speeding traffic in residential areas was a concern across the Island and that speed cameras had worked well in other countries.

He said: "It's very difficult to argue your case if you get a good photo of you in your car and something saying you were saying."

In December, 2001, the House of Assembly passed measures allowing speed cameras to be set up around the Island.

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown said it was a matter for the Labour and Home Affairs Ministry.

Labour Minister Terry Lister is currently off the Island while his stand-in, Senator David Burch, could not be reached for comment.

Mrs. Lambert said Mr. Sherratt had been very responsive to her concerns, but residents were hoping to get two raised crossings to stop traffic speeding up once it had gone over the first hump.

And she said her three-year-old was doing much better but was still traumatised even though he wasn't seriously hurt in the accident.

"If he hears an engine he screams and I can't get him to cross the street."