Ten thousand pounds is being spent in Peasedown St John to install two new vehicle activated signs (VAS) in Orchard Way, Peasedown St John.

Costing £5,000 each, the funding has been made available due to lobbying by the village’s Bath and North East Somerset Councillors Karen Walker and Sarah Bevan (Independent).

The signs will be installed over the next 6–8 weeks and follows on from a council consultation earlier this year, where residents were asked their views on traffic calming in this street. Instead of speed tables, respondents indicated that flashing slow down signs would be welcomed.

Cllr Karen Walker (Independent, Peasedown St John) said: “These two new flashing 20mph slow down signs will be installed in Orchard Way following requests from the local community. It’s been a joy to liaise with the Highways Department to see this funding secured. I know many parents will now have greater peace of mind as they walk their children to and from school.

“Unfortunately, despite other road safety measures and a 20mph speed limit rolled out across the village, a minority of drivers still choose to put other people’s lives at risk by travelling at excessive speeds. With these new flashing signs in Orchard Way, there is no excuse but to slow down!”

Last year, the councillors were also successful in arranging for new VAS signs to be installed in Ashgrove, opposite St John’s Catholic Church, and outside The Learning Day Tree Nursery in Eckweek Road.

Cllr Sarah Bevan (Independent, Peasedown St John) added: “Six months on, staff and parents at the nursery are thrilled to have this new sign right outside their front gate. With young children going to and from the nursery all day, they now feel much safer under the ‘protection’ of the road safety equipment. Cllr Walker and I are thrilled to have secured funding for what is now a total of four flashing 20mph VAS signs across the community. We hope they go a long way to ensuring that pedestrians feel much safer crossing, and walking along, our village roads.”

The new VAS will be installed between Russet Way and Frenchfield Road and between Westbury View and Faulkland View.