Pedestrians have won the first round in the battle for a new crossing on a busy road after councillors heard the pleas of 30 protesting campaigners and rejected officers’ advice at a meeting.

Residents called for either a puffin (a button-controlled crossing) or zebra crossing in Haydons Road, Wimbledon, next to the junction with Kohat Road, after a nearby crossing was removed by Transport for London (TfL) last February.

A traffic survey carried out on October 12 last year found more than 300 cars broke the 30mph speed limit at the site of the proposed crossing – which is near schools and an old people’s home – including two that passed through at more than 50mph.

Before Tuesday’s meeting of Merton Council’s street management advisory committee, where – in a rare move – councillors ignored an officer recommendation and backed the residents’ campaign, mum and Kohat Road resident Joy Sansom said: “It’s an horrendous road to cross. There’s been so many near misses – there are old people in my road who don’t cross the street.”

Afterwards she praised the committee and said: “We know we are on the bottom rung of a very long ladder, but we are going the right way.”

Councillor Andrew Judge, cabinet member for the environment, must now decide whether to go ahead with the recommendation of the committee.

Officers had recommended a crossing should not be installed as it would not be backed by TfL.

A spokesman for TfL told the council it did not meet the relevant criteria, which examines the number of accidents and crossings at the spot.

Campaigners claimed the council had undercounted the number of people who to cross Haydons Road and said notice of the council’s consultation about the crossing, which took place between December 2009 and January 2010, was not sent to enough local people.

Three businesses opposed the scheme because it would involve the loss of seven parking spaces on Haydons Road – which one trader described as “absolutely invaluable” – but residents countered the spaces could be moved to another nearby road.

Before the meeting Councillor Mark Betteridge, the council’s deputy leader, said the consultation had involved leaflets, posters, letters, newspaper notices and the council’s website.

He said no accidents had been reported since the last crossing was removed, and suggested a traffic island would be installed instead of a crossing.

He said: “We have listened to the concerns of the community but, when reporting the results of our findings to TfL, we have been informed that the road does not meet its criteria for an installation of a signalised crossing.”

A council spokesman said the authority would be considering the committee’s recommendation.