Police promise speed checks in Efailnewydd

Jan 8 2009 by Dion Jones, Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald

RESIDENTS of a quiet rural village in Lyln are concerned that speeding motorists could be putting people’s safety at risk.

Last year, local councillor Anwen Davies and PCSO Elizabeth Jones held a joint surgery in an attempt to tackle various problems that were affecting the residents of Efailnewydd.

Around 99% of the people who attended said that speeding on the A497 which runs through the centre of the village was a big problem.

Anwen Davies said: “The people of Efailnewydd have been worried about speeding on the main road through the village for quite some time now.

“The local police officers and I held a surgery to discuss the matter back in November and we plan to hold another soon.

“It is very dangerous – the children’s playing field is so close to the road.

“There is an added danger because people have to cross the main road to get to the new mobile post office service – this includes the elderly and children.

“Something must be done about it – we are currently doing what we can and we would like to see more signs and maybe a pedestrian crossing, but we need to look into the matter further before we can decide what is appropriate.

“As long as we all work together I’m sure we can solve the problem.”

Results of a survey which was conducted on the road have just been retrieved by the North Wales Police who have indicated that there is a definite speeding problem along the A497.

Local bobbies have now pledged to carry out “random speed checks” in the area in a bid to nip the problem in the bud.

PCSO Liz Jones said: “The vast majority of the complaints we received from people during the joint surgery and letters in the police post box in the village have been about speeding.

“Often, when the road in Penrhos outside of Pwllheli gets flooded, people tend to use the stretch running through the village.

“The survey shows that there is evidence of speeding along the road at certain times, particularly during the busier periods when people are travelling to and from work.

“However, the incidents are not merely confined to these times as we also see a lot speeding motorists travelling along the road during the weekend.

“I think people are concerned about their welfare and the safety of their children because many local children do play around that area.”