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Slow down in our village!
By Ruby Kitchen
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to clamp down on speeding in a Nidderdale village.
Residents in Summerbridge are fed up with cars speeding through the village, which has a 30mph limit in force, and say the situation is an "accident waiting to happen".
Now they have set up a petition calling on the county council to step up speed enforcement measures, and secure the safety of residents and schoolchildren.
Postmaster Mike Wyss, who has set up a petition in store, said: "This is a matter of great concern to the village.
"It's very dangerous – drivers are coming past at upwards of 40mph, paying no attention to the speed limits.
"Something needs to be done before it's too late."
Resident Michael Iveson says speeding is a big issue to people who live and work in the village.
"Like a lot of villages, it has a narrow road as it wasn't built for traffic," said Mr Iveson, a former chairman of the parish council.
"Cars coming down it at speed are a real danger."
He said that a traffic survey, carried out by the parish council, found that most cars were speeding through the village.
"Another major concern is the size of some of the vehicles, which is causing a problem with congestion," he said.
"The junction has become a traffic black spot, and we are almost a gridlock at certain times of the morning.
“The general consensus is that something needs to be done."
Headteacher of the village school, Angela Mundy, has lent her backing to the campaign.
"Drivers do travel too fast down the road," she said.
"We have a lady to help the children cross the road, but without her, it could be very dangerous for the children.
"The problem is that drivers can't see us over the brow of the hill, they come past so fast that they don't see the school.”
She said the best solution would be a 20mph zone enforced outside the school, similar to the one in Burnt Yates.
"Traffic is very fast in the morning, with commuters rushing to get to work, and heavy goods vehicles,” she said.
"I'm fully supportive of any measures that can be put in place to protect the children. We need something."
County councillor Heather Garnett said it was a tricky issue, but that she backed the plan to curb speeding in the village.
She said that some speed measures, such as speed humps or chicanes, were expensive and could cause damage to emergency vehicles or trucks, while others such as vehicle activated signs may be more effective.
"The parish council has been aware of the problems for some time, and it's not as easy as it may seem to fix," she said.
"To pull together the money to do it is the hard part.
“Some parishes, such as Bishop Monkton, have raised the money themselves," she said. “We're all a bit anxious that there's not a lot of public money, and maybe we could look at other ways of funding it."
A petition has been set up in Summerbridge Post Office, and residents are asked to add their name.
Once completed, the petition is to be presented to the area committee meeting by Coun Garnett.
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Weather for Wetherby
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
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