Apologies for hijacking the blog for personal use but please can drivers try to slow down when they come into the village from Alsop-en-le-dale, before they get to the bend at Station Farm.
One of our chickens has just been killed by someone who didn’t even stop….
PARWICH.ORG 
Don Fraser My sympathies to you and your poor hen, I know I would be devastated. Alas, our chickens were recently almost flattened by a TNT lorry driver who drove at a ridiculously inappropriate speed through Alsop (I don’t think Alsop has heard the language I shouted at the driver for some time). I’m afraid the “white vans” are our enemy as of late. Please slow down, otherwise we’ll need to lobby the Council to impose a 30 MPH limit when travelling though Alsop and the aproach to Parwich.
I am so sorry for your loss Emma.
It’s a puzzle to me that when you leave the 50mph A515 at the left turn into Dam Lane en route to Alsop en le Dale and onwards to Parwich, the 60 mph National Speed Limit then applies. It is a topic of much amazement to our visitors from overseas; they think it a British eccentricity – but there is of course a serious point.
Nowadays, we all see “white van man” (WVM) earning his living delivering online goods (and recently groceries) while being pressured into a near-impossible schedule. Thus we see WVM hooting their presence on bends while barrelling down Dam Lane in a frantic attempt to keep to brutal delivery timetables.
And it’s not all the fault of WVM either – for example, there’s the blue tractor which often hurtles through Alsop like a bat of of Hell, and on the right-hand bend leading out of Alsop down to Parwich I’ve no idea how one could stop safely at such a speed.
Thank you for your comments – it is very sad. Rosalind was our first hen, she was a wheaten marsh daisy, so quite unusual and full of character.
It was only a few weeks ago that a cat was hit, just a short distance further into the village, it was very badly injured and lucky to survive.
Apologies if I am side-stepping the issue somewhat. I totally agree with Anthony that the speed traffic sign posts when leaving the A and B-roads (with a 50 mls limit) for minor roads, basically telling the driver that the speed limit is now 60 mls/hr, are totally irrational in my view. I would call it ludicrous. So it’s OK to put your foot down and race along the country lanes – hey, it’s legal! Thankfully most people don’t. What’s more, these signs also increase the growing forest of sign posts. There must be a better solution (one of them is to remove these sign posts and let common sense prevail).
WVM – this is a difficult issue, but again, there must be a better solution. Like most people, I have occasional deliveries by WVM. However, at times during the day, the traffic up and down Creamery Lane, can consist of a regular stream of WV’s, some lost, some familiar with the village. Those that are familiar may be driving too fast (especially when driving down the lane) for the village conditions. Whilst there is no answer for deliveries of groceries and large / heavy items, I would personally be very happy if I had to collect my smaller items from a drop-off point in the village, thereby reducing the amount of WV traffic through the village and making the village a safer place for all creatures great and small. Drop-off points are already in place in other parts of the country. There is no easy solution in Parwich, but is it worth asking the new PPC to consider this issue? Any views?
Is there any mileage is raising again the idea of a 20mph limit in the village and its approaches, within a shared space scheme where pedestrians and animals have equal right of way with vehicles?
60mph on our side roads and 30mph in the village is in most situations, though legal, too fast. In court cases, which takes priority the legal speed limit or reckless driving? Certainly I would argue that driving at the speed limit in this situation is reckless driving. Is there anyone who would argue that there are any parts of Parwich where 30mph is safe?
Our roads are quiet, meaning that all can go freely in the roads. But also it lulls motorists into a false sense of security; I understand that it is tempting to drive up to the speed limit when you are in a rush, but how long before hens and cats (these are not the first) are joined by a human?
So sorry for your loss Emma. Totally agree, please slow down through the village before its one of our children who gets run over. Maybe signs on each approach to the village saying “Slow down children playing” would be a good idea?
Jo – Great Longstone has a road sign on approach which declaims “Kill your speed, not our children”. That’s one example of an impassioned community’s take on speeding through villages, albeit not one that appeals to me: yet more road signage (vide Saskia’s comments above) and a strident, rather ugly introduction to a Peak District village for the visitor. Maybe speed bumps, preferably ones that don’t rip off the underside of one’s car?