Road Safety

Following an accident at the junction of Burcombe Road and Middle Hill, Chas Fellows invited members of Glos Highways, Police, Parish Councillors, residents and fellow District Councillors Liz Peters and Debbie Young to join him to find a solution to this junction. Chas outlined this issues concerning signage, road markings and speed.

​The result of the pressure from the councillors was that road markings would be refreshed, signage would be cleared and additional signage and road markings would be used to help reduce speeds and danger at the crossroads. It is likely that this work will occur in a matter of weeks rather than months according to Glos Highways. New Parish Councillor Paul Lilly will look at presenting a paper to the next meeting about a speed campaign on Middle Hill.

Debbie snapped this whilst crossing the A419 last week. Perhaps the sign saying "unsuitable for vehicle over 7.5 tonnes" restricted the lorries progress.

Debbie said "not sure what suffered the most damage, the lorry or the sign, HGV drivers really must stop relying so much on Sat Nav. Even if the vehicle has made it onto Old Neighbourhood, it certainly wouldn't have made it up the rest of the road"

Despite being on holiday, Debbie was able to pick up some casework via Twitter. The Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership @GlosRoadSafety followed her on Twitter and the subsequent conversation has meant that issues such as speeding and the over grown bushes have been raised yet again. Hopefully this time they will be dealt with.
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Debbie said "Twitter and other social media are really useful ways of speaking to those you represent and solving their problems, as this shows"

Whilst out campaigning in Uplands on Friday, a gentleman complained about this signpost. He was concerned about the height of it and has seen at least two people walk into it. Debbie went out on Friday evening to investigate.

On Thursday 14th March, Debbie had the opportunity to speak with Martin Surl the Police and Crime Commissioner and raised the issue of road safety and speeding on the A419. She highlighted the lack of police speed checks, and lack of police response to issues that the community raised with them. Martin said that he would take this issue back but also made some useful suggestions about how Chalford Parish Council could  move things forward. This includes writing to Jon Hall the Fire Chief who now has statutory responsibilty for road safety, and to encourage the school to use the Community Road Safety project. Debbie will write to the Parish Council and let them know, what else they can do.

At the Parish Council meeting on the 7th March, large numbers of parishioners attending to make their views known about the problems of the junction of Old Neighbourhood and the A419. Max Strover, a Parish Councillor proposed that Chalford Parish Council write to Gloucestershire Council Highways and ask them to reinstate the traffic lights that were there after the latest accident at the junction when the road need to be closed for repairs. Debbie who was at the meeting agreed that the junction is a real problem, but that there are other issues as well, such as speeding along the A419, and lines of sight to the junction, specifically from the Cirencester direction. Debbie has campaigned formany years to imporve safety at the junction particularly with children walking up to the school. The narrow pavement which is also obstructed is dangerous when children are going to and from Christchurch and numerous incidents have been report of parents being hit by wing mirrors.

Debbie said "There are several issues here, some of which cannot be changed due to the physical constraints of the road and footpath, but some changes can be made. One of those is driver behaviour and I have urged the school previously to take part in the Police campaign whereby school children admonish drivers for their poor behaviour, as this has been particularly effective in other areas. There are things that can be done and I am happy to take some of these issues forward"

Promoting School Crossing Patrols

Debbie was part of the campaign to recruit School Crossing Patrols, together with Neil Carmichael MP she went to visit Ange the 'lollipop lady' at Severn View Primary Academy which her daughter Samantha attends. Debbie therefore uses the services on a daily basis to cross the busy Bisley Old Road and really appreciates the benefits to the children.

"People like Ange make a real diffrence to the local children get to school safely, we need more of them and I would want to encourage people to come forward and volunteer. Thanks Ange and your colleagues, we really appreciate it"