Ringway, under contract to Wiltshire Council, has today begun the installation of flashing lights and advisory signs for a 20 mph speed limit on the approaches to Stratford Primary School from both south and north directions along Stratford Road.
Pictured are the signs south of Mill Lane, opposite Parsonage Close. A second set of signs are being installed north of Gradidge Lane and as part of the same project, a new lamp post. The lamp will improve the lighting of Stratford Road for users of the Reading Room in the evenings, although this was perhaps not its primary purpose.
There had previously been a 'light' at the western end of Gradidge Lane but despite objections from residents, it was removed in 2016. This was the Council's explanation at the time:
"The lamp column to which you refer is not actually a lamp column, and never has been. It is in fact a wide based post on which a sign light was mounted. The difference between a lamp column and a sign light is that a lamp column is designed to illuminate the footway and carriageway whereas a sign light is only intended to illuminate a sign at the side of the carriageway. I can understand why you think that the post in question is a lamp column awaiting connection as the post is quite tall and has not been cut to the correct size for use as a sign light."
There is an article about Stratford's streetlighting written by Jane Court, in the Local History section of this website. Read it here.