Traffic Management Programme

 

Enmore Road is an important and well-used route between Bridgwater and Taunton, with significantly increased volumes of traffic when the nearest section of the M5 is closed.  Enmore residents have become increasingly concerned about the speed of traffic and its effect on the safety of road users.  In 2022/23 the Parish Council bought four Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) and these have helped to keep a far higher proportion of vehicles within or close to the speed limit in the 30mph sections of road they cover.  The Parish Council has now made another formal request to the Somerset Highways Department for the speed limits within the village to be reviewed and amended, to simplify them and to reduce speeds in and approaching the current 40mph mid-village section (ironically the section in the village many residents consider to be the most dangerous).  The text of the covering letter is reproduced below and the report submitted to support the request may be downloaded here.  The previous request was not deemed to be sufficiently high priority because there had not been a fatal accident.  The Parish Council would prefer any accident, fatal or otherwise, to be avoided by having more logical and less complicated speed limits throughout the length of the village.  Should you have any accident or near miss on the Enmore Road, please do tell one of the Councillors so that we have further evidence in support of our request.

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Covering letter to Katherine Tyson

Dear Katherine,
 

We, Enmore Parish Council, are submitting to you a formal request as outlined in the attached document.

 

Such was the concern of the whole Village regarding the safety of the Enmore Road that we took the decision to spend Council monies to purchase four SIDs to encourage compliance with the 30mph speed limit which exists in three of the five speed limit sections within our village boundary.  They are, thankfully, making a huge difference: however, only when they are in display mode.

 

We want to impress upon you both the detrimental environmental impact and the counter-intuitive complication of FOUR changes of speed limit within our village.  Not only is it not very green but it is nonsensical to all drivers, especially non-local drivers who make up a high percentage of the through traffic which is increasing in volume as an alternative to the M5 and A38.

 

The 40mph section is actually on the part of Enmore road that has blind corners, undulating topography and access to two well-used venues, the Enmore Golf Club and the Enmore Memorial Hall.  They also happen to be adjacent to each other and on a bend.  Most of the motorists are non-local and unaware of the hazards and are yet being signalled that it is safe to increase their speed by 10mph.   

 

The 24/7 20mph limit outside our school is also out of step with many other schools in the area and the headmaster, Mr MacRae, has written to the Enmore Parish Council expressing his wish for a similar approach outside Enmore Primary School (see p10 in attached document).  It is not a good reflection on Somerset that they should be out of step in the area particularly when Enmore Primary School recently had its Outstanding Ofsted renewed, only the third in the South West to do so.

 

A key factor in our concerns is that the road is without footpath, indeed any verge in some places, and is used by pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists, farm traffic and stock movement, motorbikes, cars, vans and large lorries including articulated delivery vehicles.

 

We ask that you consider the attached carefully.  The investment by Highways needed to make the changes detailed is minimal compared to the risks of exposure if a fatal accident should occur.  The current speed limit map within Enmore would be hard to defend.

 

Yours sincerely

 

On behalf of Enmore Parish Council.

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