Lopen is bisected by Holloway, the former A356 which, though now de-classified and with a 7.5 ton weight limit, remains busy.  As about a quarter of the houses in Lopen are accessed from it, in a few cases very directly with front doors opening onto the road itself and with no pavement along part of it's length, it is a constant hazard.

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Speeding and short-cutting HGVs are a continual problem.  A few years ago Somerset County Council did carry out a small improvements scheme (SIS), which caused quite a bit of controversy at the time with some fairly unexpected suggestions in their initial proposal.  However, after considerable negotiation it did, in the end, deliver some of the things the village was asking for. 

It did also serve to stir up enough feeling to lead to the re-establishment of the village community speedwatch and also for the purchase of a village-funded speed indication device (SID).  As well as providing visual speed reminders to passing motorists this device collects data on traffic flows and speeds, which is forwarded to the police and the County Council.  This mean that we sometimes get a visit from the mobile camera team

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The village Speed Watch group has now been reformed and we already have more than a dozen volunteers.  However, more are required to provide sufficient members to be able to mount a patrol at any time and on any day of  the week.  If you can help please be in touch with your availability.. 

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You can contact SLOW by email by clicking here.