Speed signs put up overnight by ‘Christmas elves’ to stop drivers speeding through village

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

Residents say ‘Christmas elves’ put up speed signs last week to discourage drivers from speeding through their village.

And whilst the actual speed limit on the A5 through Glasfryn remains 60 mph, residents say they will decorate the village Christmas tree with 30-mph signs at the switch on this Monday.

Villagers are angry at the Welsh Government for placing 60-mph signs either side of Glasfryn eighteen months ago, reminding drivers they are free to travel at the national speed limit.

Residents fear it is only a matter of time before someone is killed on the stretch of road.

School bus

Cllr Gwennol Ellis say she worries that a speeding vehicle could hit the school bus taking children to Ysgol Cerrgydrudion. Cllr Ellis said the villagers have campaigned to the Welsh Government without success.

“Some 30-mph signs have appeared overnight. Maybe it was the Christmas elves,” she said.

“The signs (either side of the village) are in farmers’ fields, so they can’t do anything about that, can they?

“The Welsh Government put up national speed limits signs over 18 months ago either end of the village, encouraging people to drive at 60 mph. They appeared all of a sudden.

“But we’ve got a lot of families living in the village. They live right on the roadside, so the school bus picks up on the A5, and I’m just scared somebody is going to drive into the back of that one day. But we have to be careful not to scare the children because, at the end of the day, it is their home. But they do fear for their lives.

“The speed limit is 60 mph, but some people will drive at 70 mph through the village right past people’s houses. Why did the Welsh Government need to put those national speed limit signs up? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Resident Euan Robertson added, “We woke up this morning, and with it being December 1, we think that either Santa’s little helpers or the Christmas elves have decorated the village and put up some 30-mph speed limit signs,” he said.

“One sign is on a hay bale, and we have a village Christmas tree which is being switched on Monday night. The baubles have been made as 30-mph signs.

“There are increasing numbers of children in the village. The village playground is actually on the A5 as well. We find that cars overtake in the village. Cars are travelling in excess of 60 miles an hour in what is essentially a residential area.

“It is really scary. I walk my dogs along the A5 every morning, and traffic is coming rushing past, often in the dark and the wet, so I’m having to wear high-vis and head torches. The dogs have even got lights on them now, to make drivers aware. We’ve got lorries travelling through the village too at high speeds. It can be terrifying.”

Dangerous

Angharad Roberts is a mum of three children aged five, seven, and ten and has lived in the village for eight years.

“It is a dangerous road because of the speed limit,” she said.

“There are a lot of children living in the village. We have to walk across the road to get to our cars or to get to the park.

“People don’t slow down when they see children walking, but when the lorry passes at speed, there is a rush of wind that comes from the lorry when they pass, and it is strong enough to take a child into the road.”

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said, “We are currently updating guidance on local speed limits. During this time reviews on speed limits have been paused. Once the new guidance is available, we will be reviewing speed limits across the road network.”