Lower speed limit trial for Frome school

Concern over the speed limit outside Berkeley School in Frome has led to a new speed trial being launched by Somerset County Council. The current speed limit outside the school is 60mph and parents have been calling for the speed limit to be lowered for many years. In response, a 20mph advisory speed limit will be trialled outside the school for the beginning of summer. Somerset County Council has been working with the police to see what is appropriate outside the school and recently conducted a traffic survey. The findings were discussed at a scheduled meeting held on 29th March with staff, parents, police and county council representatives on how to tackle the ongoing public concern over the speed limit. The county council recommended they would trial a 20mph advisory speed limit. Then, further speed readings will be taken and a formal proposal will be made for a permanent lower speed limit as part of the Local Transport Plan.Carole Brautigam, headteacher at Berkley School said, “When we came out of the meeting this morning, we felt very positive. This is a tremendous step forward in getting the speed limit reduced outside the school.”Cabinet member at Somerset County Council cllr Harvey Siggs said, “This is not the time for long discussions – it is now time for action and this action was already overdue. Our highways officers will be putting in the scheme with cooperation from the school. The safety around our schools is an issue we take very seriously.”Campaigners from West Woodlands also received good news last week as a 40mph speed restriction has been granted throughout the village.Meanwhile, Somerset County Council has located sites across Frome, suitable for a mobile police speed camera van in a bid to deter speeding drivers.Somerset County Councillor for Frome North cllr Peter John has also secured measures to improve road safety on Clink Road. He said, “A series of pedestrian islands have been installed to improve the safety for pedestrians crossing Clink Road and at the same time act as a further measure to cause drivers to observe the existing 30 mph speed limit. As the county councillor for Frome North, I was able to obtain funding for this important safety improvement from the 2011/2012 Minor Highway Safety Scheme budget at the County Council.“An area of Hardstanding has also been put in place on Clink Road to allow the mobile safety camera van to make regular visits to the area to assist in enforcing the existing speed limit. I was able to secure funding for this work from the Highways budget, and this was a result of several months of working closely with the local Community Speedwatch  Group and the local police. This shows the benefit of cross agency and group co operation working together to achieve positive measures to assist in improving road safety.”