Joy as speed signs put brakes on fast drivers
The installation of speed warning signs near a Shropshire village school is already having an effect on how fast motorists are driving, safety campaigners have said.
The Vehicle Activated Signs were installed and switched on by Shropshire Council in St Martins Road, Gobowen, before Christmas.
The signs flash a 30mph warning when sensors detect vehicles are breaking the speed limit. They were installed after a long-running campaign by villagers.
Many families cross St Martins Road to reach School Lane to get to Gobowen Primary School. The signs have been installed near the junction of St Martins Road and School Lane.
Hundreds of villagers petitioned for road safety improvements on the busy road. Gobowen grandmother Dot Basham said the signs were already having a positive effect.
She said: "I have been watching the cars as they come down the road and they have definitely been slowing down when the lights flash."
Mrs Basham said despite the introduction of the signs, campaigners still wanted to see a pedestrian crossing installed in St Martins Road.
She said: "We will keep the pressure on and hopefully will hear from Shropshire Council in the new year about where we are."
Councillor Claire Wild, head of highways at Shropshire Council, visited the site in November to see the problems and to meet campaigners.
The request for the crossing in Gobowen is currently going through the council's highways budget process for the next financial year.
Last year a campaign was launched in Telford in a bid to stop speeding outside schools in Wrockwardine Wood, Trench and Donnington.
Police warned parents who put lives at risk by breaking the speed limit and parking illegally outside schools, they would face court action.
