Noticeboard

There have been safety concerns regarding the zebra crossing at Wembdon Rise for a long time. These concerns increased following an unfortunate incident in September 2021 when a young girl was knocked down whilst using the crossing. In response to these concerns Somerset Council Council has agreed to update the belisha beacons on the crossing, and are in dialogue with the police regarding a reduction of the speed limit on Wembdon Rise to 20 mph. However, they have refused the request for the zebra crossing to be replaced by a traffic light controlled crossing. These are their reasons.

• Demand – in short, the volume of pedestrians requiring to cross the road over a 24 hour period must be significant enough to warrant the installation costs and ongoing maintenance costs of a Traffic Light Controlled Crossing.  Although there are 2 daily peak times Monday to Friday during term time associated with school drop off and pick up, this demand would not be the same out of those hours.

• The location is not suited for a Traffic Light Controlled Crossing due to the proximity to Inwood Road junction.  There must be a minimum of 20 metres from any junction.

• A zebra gives pedestrians priority over vehicles, effectively slowing down traffic as soon as pedestrians approach the crossing.  However the responsibility is on both pedestrian and vehicle to pay attention, (this is also important at a signal controlled crossing).

• More pedestrians can safely move on the footway as they will not have to wait for the lights to change.

• Zebras are less intrusive, reduced energy costs and light pollution.

• Maintenance costs of a signalised crossing would be greater than a zebra and there are more costly component parts involved.  These costs increase each year.

Wembdon Parish Councillors send a big ‘thank you’ to all who supported us this afternoon in our campaign to improve the safety of the crossing. We were very pleased to see so many people there.

We hope you have signed the petition which we will be sending to Somerset County Council. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity, you will be able to do so at Wembdon Village Hall on Friday evening (5th November) between 5pm and 8pm, or on Saturday between 10am and 3:30pm. Alternatively, you can register your support online.

In the UK Fraud now accounts for 40% of all reported crime, and indivdual people are defrauded of a total of £7 billion a year.  Don’t be one of them! The South West Regional Organised Crime Unit have produced a very useful booklet giving useful tips on how not to be a victim.  You can read the booklet by clicking on this link.

Following a spate of problems on Saturday night/Sunday morning at Parklands, the Police will be stepping up patrols over the whole of the Green and Parklands, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. They will confiscate any alcohol, take names and follow up.

You can play your part by reporting any crime or anti-social behaviour directly to the Police – unfortunately it is not sufficient just to put something on Facebook. Our Police Community Support Officer, Jason Wyatt, says that it is very important to report directly to the Police, so that all incidents are properly recorded.

You can make your report by calling 101. As that is very busy at the moment, PCSO Wyatt suggests that you make an on-line report instead.

In an emergency, you should still call 999, as on-line reports may not be read for several hours.