The newly-pedestrianised centre of Newton Abbot has been dubbed a 'ticking time bomb' and 'an accident waiting to happen'.
Work to pave Bank Street, East Street and Wolborough Street is nearing completion but drivers are ignoring the new restrictions.
They take little notice of No Entry signs at the north end of Bank Street and many, often delivery drivers, cut through from East Street despite a 10am to 5pm ban.
People needing access to Sun Court are exempt, a decision which has been questioned as it means a mix of vehicles and wandering shoppers.
Resident Barbara Prowse was so concerned she contacted the Advertiser to call for action.
'The police are really helpful but seem to have their hands tied. Someone is going to get really hurt, possibly a child.
'It's an accident waiting to happen,' she said.
Sue Powell, assistant manager at Barnardo's, Bank Street, has also seen the problems.
She said: 'People are under the impression we were going to be pedestrianised and it made into a nice area. They are letting their children out of the pushchairs and coming out of the alley blissfully unaware there might be a car thundering by.
'There have been some near misses. I would say a couple of dozen cars each day are coming through, some at speed.'
Stella Wright, manager of the nearby Animals in Distress shop, said her 20-month-old granddaughter was one of those who had escaped injury.
'When she had just started walking she was coming out of the shop and my daughter Katie literally had to grab her reins because of the speed of a car driving down here.'
Julie Tucker, of Sanders tobacconist, said: 'It's a bit like a ticking time bomb. The last thing we want is for someone to get injured.'
PC Steve Cayless, the town's beat manager, said he was aware of the problem and warned drivers that their time to get used to the new rules had run out.
He said: 'A lot of the problems are people loading and unloading, perhaps not aware of the ban or not seeing the signs.
'As of Monday there are now two beat managers, me and PC Ian Russell, which means we can do a lot more enforcement work on the street.
'It's a £60 fine and three points on the licence for ignoring the no entry signs and £70 for loading outside the permitted hours.
'It's time to comply with the law. And don't say you didn't see the signs, which is the common excuse. we're not listening to it any more.'