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Minor victory for father of twins after he launches petition calling on Hertfordshire County Council to bring in speed restrictions around Avanti Meadows Primary in Bishop’s Stortford




A worried dad is claiming a minor victory after he launched a petition calling for a 20mph limit and speed humps to slow rogue drivers around his children’s school in Bishop’s Stortford.

Adam Teal’s nine-year-old twin sons walk to Avanti Meadows Primary on the St Michael’s Hurst estate in Farnham Road from their home in nearby Kitchener Road – and he says some motorists travel at up to 45mph during the school run.

“People speed right in front of the school,” said Adam, who is critical of highways authority Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) for not reducing the speed limit when the school opened in September 2021.

Adam with his twin sons and two friends at the school in Farnham Road
Adam with his twin sons and two friends at the school in Farnham Road

“They failed to recognise the speed limit is still 30mph,” he said. “It doesn’t need traffic lights, it needs a 20mph speed limit and speed humps.”

Although Adam felt that a meeting last year with HCC officers and Cllr Calvin Horner, the county councillor for Stortford East division, had failed to bear fruit, the county council has informed the Indie that signs warning drivers of an advisory speed limit are in the pipeline.

A spokesperson for HCC said: “Our policy is that we will only look to introduce a 20mph zone where there is clear local support and where we’re confident that changing the speed limit will make a real difference to traffic speeds.

Avanti Meadows Primary School in Farnham Road, Bishop’s Stortford. Pic: Vikki Lince
Avanti Meadows Primary School in Farnham Road, Bishop’s Stortford. Pic: Vikki Lince

“Our experience is that actually slowing traffic down often requires more than just changing the speed limit sign, and we frequently also need to make changes to the road environment, including line painting and traffic calming measures, for them to be effective.

“We are aware of the request for a 20mph speed limit on Farnham Road and we have carried out speed surveys there. These showed that vehicles are currently travelling at an average of 28mph, which is good compliance with the existing 30mph limit but too fast for a 20mph zone to be effective without physical changes to the road.

“While we don’t have any plans to introduce a 20mph speed limit on Farnham Road, the local county councillor, Calvin Horner, is funding an advisory 20mph limit near the school, which may help reduce traffic speeds at the main times of concern for children getting to or from school.”

Cllr Horner told the Indie on Tuesday he was waiting for a timescale for the installation of the signs and he had received notification that they have been ordered.

Cllr Calvin Horner
Cllr Calvin Horner

“The school advisory signs will warn motorists of the need to reduce their speed around the school at the start and end of the school day, which will be of benefit, especially as there are no signs when approaching the school from the west,” he said.

“I fully support the reduction of speed limits to 20 mph where there is support from residents and especially outside primary schools,” added Cllr Horner. “I am aware of a high level of support for this proposal from local parents of pupils at Avanti Meadows, as Mr Teal obtained several hundred names on a previous petition.”

Cllr Horner has requested that the status of Farnham Road under the county’s speed management strategy (SMS) is reviewed. He also called for the SMS to be reviewed “so that speed limits reflect the need to protect pedestrians”.

Adam welcomed the news: “Something is better than nothing,” he said. “If it’s a 20mph sign at the school I would take anything, but it [a 20mph speed limit] should be mandatory outside every school in the country.”

He said he would continue to collect signatures for his petition and urged parents to sign. He has so far collected 50 and has printed 500 leaflets to promote it.

Some authorities are considering bringing in 20mph speed limits in certain areas. Prior to last year’s General Election, Labour MP Louise Haigh – who was appointed Transport Secretary before resigning less than five months later – said that it should be up to local communities to decide the speed limits on local roads, “not politicians in Westminster”.

She added: “’20mph limits are welcome in certain areas such as around schools, but those decisions should be made locally. That’s why a Labour Government will not introduce blanket 20mph zones.”



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