20mph for School Road, Fritton NR15 2QN

We call on the elected authorities; Morningthorpe & Fritton Parish, South Norfolk District and Norfolk County Councils to support, implement and enforce a 20 Mile Per Hour speed limit on School Road, Fritton, Norfolk, NR15 2QN in the interests of both road safety and environmental protection.

School Road NR15 2QN currently has a 40 mph speed limit that is unreasonably high for such a small, rural residential road. Within the current 40 mph speed limit zone there are thirteen homes which house thirteen children of school age or less, together with a number of homes where grandchildren and school friends regularly visit and play.

The road is less than twelve feet wide throughout its length; with a low bank and hedge on the south side, the north side is lined with thirteen homes each with a driveway and front gardens with hedges, there is no pavement.

Consequently any road user will be found on the north side verge and any vehicle wishing to pass another will be forced together. When traffic approach from opposite directions at 40 mph at least one vehicle will drive on the kerb and verge at 40 mph, to pass, many of these vehicles are in excess of 40 tonnes. The east end of School Road comes on to Fritton Common, popular with visitors and walkers and a site of special scientific interest SSSI. School Road has stables and is used daily by horse riders, pony trekkers as well as groups of walkers, cyclists and the local families.

School Buses collect and disembark children on Fritton Common and those residents on School Road have to risk the traffic to and from school twice every school day.

School Road represents a shortcut from a number of other villages to and from Long Stratton and the A140, it is regularly used as a diversion when the A140 is closed due to road works or accidents with streams of fast moving traffic passing along School Road in both directions. Flooding on Hall Road will result in traffic using School Road as an alternative route. During summer school holidays School Road has very large, heavy vehicles passing in both directions every two minutes throughout daylight hours and in to the evenings.

At less than twelve foot wide in its entire length School Road requires any two passing vehicles to use the kerb and verge at the front of the homes in order to pass each other, many of these vehicles are HGVs. Approximately halfway along School Road there are entrances to a small holding and an Anglian Water plant where heavy and articulated vehicles emerge on to School Road. It is noted that many larger roads in the district have much lower speed limits than the 40 mph currently in force on School Road NR15 2QN. Running east - west with a high hedge on the entire south side the surface of School Road gets no direct sun during winter months and frost and ice can persist all day.

School Road curves into the southern hedge so that vehicles entering either end will not see each other until they are a quarter of the way along School Road. This is of consequence because vehicles often accelerate as they come on to School Road only to have to brake excessively and mount the kerb on the northside to avoid each other.

At its east end School Road has a small bridge and drainage culvert were the road is less than twelve foot wide with a small but often overgrown verge, vehicles often turn in to school Road from New Road or The Street at speed resulting in vehicles approaching the bridge at 40 mph having to brake unexpectedly and excessively and mounting the kerb and verge. An impact between a child, horse and rider, cyclist, pedestrian with a vehicle traveling at 20 mph is less than 20% likely to be fatal. An impact at 40 mph will more than 90% likely to be fatal!