20s plenty campaign launched

Since presenting our vision at the Annual Parish Meeting way back in March we have been struggling to work out how to engage with more villagers and what we should tackle as a first step towards our vision.

We have decided to campaign for a blanket 20mph speed limit within the village. We believe that reducing traffic speeds is key to achieving our vision. In addition this is nothing new - there is ever increasing public and legislative support for 20mph speed limits in urban areas where people live. It remains to be seen if there will be the same levels of support within the village - more of this later.

We intend to join up with the national 20s Plenty For Us campaign as this will give us access to proven resources and expertise. There are now 150 campaigns across the country ranging from city wide initiatives to smaller villages like ourselves. We have already learnt a lot by talking to them. It you are interested I would recommend perusing their website. The "Why" and "20mph facts" pages are good starting points.

The case for 20mph limits is compelling. Lower accident rates and the consequences of accidents are less severe. Most children hit by a car at 20mph make a full recovery - sadly this is not the case at 30mph. As traffic speeds drop people feel more confident to walk and cycle and this in terms brings health benefits. With lower speeds, streets generally become a more pleasant environment to be in. Neighbours can stop and chat to each other without being drowned out by car noise. Children can get around with less parental supervision.

Recent surveys indicate that over 80% of people support 20mph limits (without humps) for residential roads so there is clear public support. Recent government guidance recommends local authorities consider implementing 20mph limits in urban areas where people live. To support this guidance, changes to legislation make 20mph limits simpler and cheaper to implement - a city wide implementation in Porstmouth cost just £333 per street.

We need to know how Stoke Golding residents feel about this. During October we will be conducting a survey of approx 120 households (about 15%). Hopefully we will get a positive response which will give necessary mandate to move the campaign forward and persuade Councillors and local authorities. We aim to publish the results towards the end of October.

We would love to get some more people involved. If you care enough please contact Alan White alanwhitesg@gmail.com

Convent Corner Design Approved

I understand that the detailed design for the proposed new junction at Convent Corner has now been approved. This has been discussed at length in earlier posts. So it would seem that despite concerns and representations from both St Martins School and the Parish Council only very limited changes have been made to the design.
I for one am very frustrated by the whole process and the failure of the local authority to properly listen to local concerns.

In particular I remain very concerned about sight lines from the proposed pedestrian crossing. I have asked the council for evidence that the crossing meets the relevant national standards. I will post again when I have a response.