Village Post Box (also: Road safety concerns throughout the village)

Following a plea from residents, we would like to ask that Parishioners cease the practice of mounting the pavement in vehicles to post letters without actually leaving the vehicle. This is outside Hambleton House and the Old Post Office. Apart from the fact that the pavement should not be used as a public highway, we are concerned about the safety issues, particularly when young children are regularly using the doorways and will be unaware of such dangers. Thank You.

(Admin:  Title changed from “Alstonefield Village Post Box” to “Village Post Box (also: Road safety concerns throughout the village)” on 30/8/09 11:20 to reflect the development of the thread. r.)

9 thoughts on “Village Post Box (also: Road safety concerns throughout the village)

  1. tara_a

    Thankyou for mentioning this. Millie and Ruby often leave their nanas and poppas house and although they havent yet ran on to the road, they do go onto the pavement. It would be awful for an accident to happen just to save a few minutes getting out of the car to post letters!! Tara.

  2. eileenj

    The safety of children is paramount and I suggest that the P.C. ask the Highways Department for a much lower speed limit throughout the village; I would press for a priority limit of 20 m.p.h.
    Further – signs depicting children (at play – I think signs say) are
    needed at entrances into village. If we have to pay for them I’m sure we could raise the cash quickly; I’ll start the ball rolling if necessary.
    PLEASE Parish Councillors, all haste, don’t leave it to fate.
    Eileen.

  3. eileenj

    P.S. re road danger: submit a head count of children within area involved including a rough measurement of square mileage.
    I’ve seen it succeed in another matter involving welfare of children.

  4. richard-a

    I think it would be a great idea to reduce the village speed limit to 20 M.P.H. As 30 M.P.H has little effect to many of the drivers passing through the village. It is a shame that the police never catch the repeat offenders that fly through….

    Regarding the driving on the pavement to post mail. I feel direct action is requied as this problem has gone on for years. It is only a few locals that do it.
    I would have no problem in taking photographs of these persons registration plates and posting the pictures on this forum. My be a little drastic, but this practice has to stop.!!!

  5. richard_s

    I agree with Eileen and Richard A that the whole issue of road safety in the village could be explored. 20mph in the village centre would be a good idea, but on the Raikes we would be grateful if the 30 limit were obeyed! – speeds well in excess of 30 are common, and I would estimate speeds of up to 60 (especially some motorbikes) – which makes exit from our driveway an issue.

    Car boot days are the worst. Today I experienced the following:

    – three cases of aggressive/dangerous overtaking of rows of parked cars where I had right of way

    – Cars parked opposite the entrance to the car boot, causing gridlock

    – Cars parked in a continuous row from the Old School garden down to opposite the reading room. The only gap was at the entrance to the village hall car park, but that wasn’t much use as a pull-in because cars were attempting to get in and out! – so of cause cars were gridlocked.

    – And to cap it all, while driving my tractor home, I clearly signalled a right turn into my driveway. I looked over my shoulder before turning to see a car from two cars back was trying to overtake! (and this has happened several times before)

    What should have been a pleasant Sunday morning routine turned into an unpleasant experience with more than one near miss due to the stupid behaviour of other drivers from outside the village.

    So I fully support the previous four correspondents, but feel that the whole issue of car parking and speeding needs to be addressed for the whole village.

  6. brian_r

    I have to hold my hand up and admit to being one of the offenders. When I came to the village I was told that this was the way to do it !! You are all absolutely right and I should have known better. It will not happen again by me. As for the other points…… Yes, the traffic on car boot days is a pain. There was a camper van parked outside our living room window for 2 hours, cutting out all the light. But – it is only one morning every month. I can live with that. I would support a 20 mph speed limit in the village, but wonder whether it would make any difference. In my daughter’s village in Norfolk (Hingham) there is a 20mph limit, but I never see anyone keeping to it. These days, the majority of drivers only slow down when they are forced to, by cameras or police.

  7. alstonefield_parish_council

    A review of parking in the Parish is underway, and this will include any issues on car boot days and any other special event days in the village. We can also re-visit the subject of speeding, and would invite anyone who has concerns and/or ideas in relation to parking or speeding to come along to the public forum at the next Parish Council meeting on 30th September (7.00 pm.).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.