‘Slow down drivers so we can play’ – children are making road signs to warn drivers

Four boys from Bethesda in Gwynedd have made their own road signs to encourage drivers to slow down on their street so it’s safe for them to play outside.

After seeing the colourful signs on a road with a 20mph speed limit, close to the secondary school in the town, we went to chat with Efan, Gruff, Robin and Elgan about their effort to make their neighbourhood a safe and play-friendly place.

Robin, who’s 11 years old, said:

‘At the moment our street isn’t a nice place to play because the cars speed. So, we have had to make signs to tell them to slow down.’

The boys, who are neighbours, enjoy playing on their bikes and scooters and playing games like kerby and cricket on the road outside their homes. But, as a lot of cars speed along the road it’s not possible. To solve the problem, eight year-old Gruff and nine-year-old Efan came up with the idea of placing big colourful signs on the side of the road to draw drivers’ attention.

Gruff tells us more about creating the signs:

‘We made the signs, then we were busy placing the letters in a big size and painting them. Then we placed them in the grass, so people know to slow down because we want to play here’.

Speaking about the success of the signs, Efan said:

‘We are happy the signs work. We are really happy because now we can play’.

Gruff added:

‘Having 20mph roads is a good idea because a lot of children are happy with it, but cars are still speeding here’.

The signs have also drawn some attention on social media with local residents praising the children for their efforts:

‘Well done boys – colourful signs like these are needed so drivers pay attention’ and ‘Brilliant, we need more signs like these’.

With the rest agreeing, twelve-year-old Elgan’s message for drivers in the area is:

'Slow down. We want to play so will you please slow down.'

The last word came from Robin:

'Stop speeding. I’d like to live a bit longer – I wouldn’t like to be like a pancake! Maybe if the council place big signs and speed bumps we wouldn’t have to build our own signs – we could play.'