Dear neighbour,

We are new residents at Fullers Close and use the Claypits/Alkerton Road to walk into Eastington village on a daily basis. We have found it to be an unfriendly and sometimes dangerous experience. As part of their home education, I have been helping my children carry out some fieldwork to collect evidence for a community petition; Campaign for Safe Speed Limit in Eastington. Upon assessing the area, we have found there to be no sources of information for road users to indicate that the road is regularly used by pedestrians. On 3/2/21 the children tallied the frequency of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists between 10.15am and 11.15am, the numbers are as follows: 84 vehicles, 13 pedestrians (6 children), and 8 cyclists. We have also observed that there is a high number of heavy-duty vehicles due to the local construction and waste management facilities, increasing the risk of accidents. With another new estate in development, this indicates more families and elderly individuals will be coming into the area who need safe access to the village. The composition of road users along the Claypits/Alkerton Road has, and is still, changing and this suggests a need for greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

We are asking for the traffic authorities to review and extend the village speed limit of 30mph with street lighting along Alkerton Road and Claypits up to the A38 junction, and to consider effective engineering/geometry changes to the road such as a wider pavement, safety barriers at road crossings and/or a cycle path. We also ask for traffic calming measures to be considered such as speed humps/chicanes, warning signs, a vehicle-activated sign, pedestrian crossings and/or a higher barrier on the M5 motorway bridge.

The research speaks for itself; speeds above 30mph increase the risk of death rapidly (Rosen and Sander, 2009, cited in Department of Transport’s Setting Local Speed Limits). It would be important to note also that the benefits of encouraging walking/cycling into the village as opposed to driving due to a dangerous walkway is exponential; by improving accessibility, congestion and carbon emissions will decrease and support members of the Eastington community to choose healthier lifestyles. (See TAL 02/00 (Framework for a local walking strategy).

Instead of waiting for a fatality to occur to improve safety, let's prevent it from happening in the first place. If you would like to help create a safer road environment fit for purpose, please sign this petition. We plan to collect your responses and present this along with our field research to the council and highway authorities.