People living in Peasedown St John are being encouraged to return their Village Voice parking survey response forms – which have been delivered to every house in the community.
Put together by Councillor Nathan Hartley and community activist Karen Walker, the survey gives people the chance to submit their views and vote on their preferred option for tackling the village’s growing parking problems.
So far, over 300 votes have been cast – all expressing a wide range of views.
Nathan said: “For many years residents have often raised concerns with me about parked vehicles on pavements in housing estates near to the school; Bath Road, Sunnyside View, Church Road and Hillcrest – and the added amount of traffic generated due to parents and carers transporting their children.
“Last year, I held a public meeting with lots of different people that could come up with solutions to the problem. This is now the chance for the public to vote on their preferred solution.”
The proposals, which the public have a chance to vote on, include:
- Building a new school in a less congested part of the village;
- Building a car park on a piece of land near to the school, such as the Recreation Ground or one of the Curo-owned spaces in Albert Avenue;
- Creating more incentives for parents/carers to walk their children to and from school;
- Coordinating a car-share scheme for parents/carers;
- Building a drop-off point at the front of the school.
The option(s) with most support will be taken forward, with Nathan and Karen lobbying B&NES Council and other bodies to provide any funding that may be needed to implement the community’s preferred option.
Karen added: “This is the biggest village-wide survey since the Parish Plan was put together over five years ago, and the first ever to specifically address the continual problems of parked and moving vehicles in the centre of the village.
“We recruited 30 volunteers to help us with the task. I’d encourage all residents to let us know what they think.”
The survey comes as a time when a government inspector has recently announced that 89 homes are to be built in Greenlands Road, centrally located in the village which is likely to cause even more congestion on village roads.
All survey responses should be with Karen and Nathan by Wednesday 17th September, and can be sent to Village Voice, 34 Church Road, Peasedown St John, BA2 8AF. Copies of the survey can be obtained by emailing [email protected]
