FROME town centre is expected to become a 20mph zone by the end of the year after a consultation by Somerset County Council was met with a favourable response.
The 20-mph zone will include all town centre streets and extend from a little way uphill of the junction of North Parade and Welshmill Road, through the town centre, up to Rook Lane on Bath Street.
Arrangements for when the works will take place are yet to be confirmed, but it is believed that the county council is aiming to complete the works by the end of November.
Work will take place overnight to minimise disruption to the town centre. New signage at various ‘gateway’ points will be installed, as well as ‘20mph’ roundels on the road surface at various points on a ‘buff’ coloured high friction surface to remind drivers that they are in the zone.
At last week’s Frome Town Council ‘Town Matters’ meeting, there was reassurance that signage for the 20mph zone would be kept to a minimum to respect the town’s conservation area status.
Councillors unanimously voted at the meeting to ratify the decision to contribute £4,000 towards the cost of the scheme – the bulk of the costs of implementing the scheme will be met by the county council.
At the meeting, cllr Tricia Golinski said, “I’m really supportive of this, it is something that I have been campaigning for many years for. It’s well-known that there is a big reduction in deaths and injuries on the road when cars drive at a slower speed – it is the obvious thing to do.
“More progressive and neighbouring authorities like Bath & North East Somerset are introducing 20mph limits in all their residential areas across the board, so I have to say that Somerset County Council wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t for Frome Town Council taking the initiative – so the town council should be congratulated for taking this step to make the town more safe and pedestrian-friendly.”