RESIDENTS in Williton have launched a petition against a proposal to put double yellow lines along with a zebra crossing outside St Peter’s First School.

More than 60 people have signed the petition to say they are totally against the installation of the crossing with associated zig zag marking and yellow lines in Doniford Road.

And they are urging Somerset County Council to stop the installation and consider other traffic calming measures instead.

Residents received letters to inform them about consultation on the crossing and a proposed extra 92 metres of double yellow lines to aid visibility outside St Peter’s First School.

Parish councillor Guy Denton last week urged people to respond, saying he was concerned the road would get a lot busier in the future, with building development and a park and ride scheme for Hinkley Point C workers.

But residents who would no longer be able to park their cars in front of their homes said:

n They did not think it was a dangerous road and the parked cars acted as traffic calmers.

n There would be a detrimental knock-on effect for local housing estates nearby if residents from Doniford Road had to find parking elsewhere.

n Car parking which residents had used since 1960 would be taken away, affecting disabled and elderly people, as well as those with young children or heavy shopping.

n They believed parents in cars would still just park on the yellow lines unless there was constant surveillance.

“They could do other traffic calming measures like they do on the Watchet road and it works perfectly well there,” said local resident Mary Coles, who lives on the affected section of the road.

“We don’t see the logic of this – don’t take away all people’s parking.”

She said she had never had a problem, even when she herself went to Danesfield School and her own children and grandchildren crossed the road to go to school.

Fellow resident Andy Lyder said he believed dangerous driving would become a bigger issue if there were no cars parked on the road.

“We don’t think it’s a dangerous road, but without any cars to calm the traffic it will be horrendous,” he said.

He said he did not see how the Park and Ride would affect what was happening on Doniford Road, and the deadline of Tuesday (May 2) for people to respond meant there was not much time to fight the proposal.

Although the council’s letter to residents was dated April 12, people he knew did not receive it until last week, he said.

“The way the letter was written, it sounded like they had already made up their minds about the work. We are very unhappy about it,” he said.

Information about the scheme is at somerset.gov.uk/ policies-and-plans/schemes-and-initiatives/small-improvement-schemes.