An alliance of community groups in South Portslade have joined forces to demand action from the council to have a school crossing built.
Friends of St Peters School, Friends of Vale Park and the community supporters of South Portslade will launch a ‘Give The Kids A Crossing For Christmas’ campaign on Friday November 15 at 8.15am.
The groups will meet with Labour’s South Portslade Councillor, Alan Robins and Labour’s Parliamentary candidate, Peter Kyle, outside the community primary school to highlight how dangerous the road is and then to go into the community to speak to residents and urge them to contact to the council.
Despite expanding from an infant to a primary school – and looking to double pupil numbers – no provision for a safe road crossing has been made. Yet the school is located by one of the south coast’s busiest ports with industrial units and a major arterial road just yards away.
Parents, who recently presented an 800-word petition to the council, feel that after several near misses it’s just a matter of time before a child is seriously injured. Yet the committee in charge of making improvements is refusing to prioritise the issue and continue to insist that they need to make assessments – which could last well into next year.
Labour’s Parliamentary candidate, Peter Kyle, is supporting the campaign. He said: “The fact that 800 people signed a petition in support of installing a crossing shows the depth of concern in the local community. Why Pete West, the Green councillor in charge of relevant committee, would want to stall and delay making some simple road safety measures is baffling.”
Councillor Robins added: “We need to bring some common sense into the process and improve the crossing facilities for St. Peters School as opposed to rigidly sticking to a tick box exercise on a council form.
“The planning committee is hiding behind bureaucratic procedure and assessments when we need to action now.”
The Head of the School along with the Board of Governors have also called for urgent action to be taken and with the school set to expand significantly in the coming academic years this issue is pressing and in need of action.
Councillor Pete West, Chair of Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, said: “Over £25,000 has been spent on crossing points and other safety measures around St Peter’s School following its expansion. Council officers are now assessing the area around St Peters’ School in response to residents’ requests to see if further measures are needed.
“We consider all requests to improve road safety for pedestrians very carefully, as we believe it’s important for everyone who chooses to walk to school or work to be able to do so safely. So unlike other administrations, we’ve protected vital funding for transport schemes. We look at over 100 sites a year in response to residents’ requests, so that those most in need of work are prioritised in a fair and impartial way. This system was supported by all parties when it was introduced, and its development was even overseen by Labour’s current Leader Councillor Warren Morgan.
“I would like us to be able to spend more on pedestrian crossings, but this isn’t helped when Labour and the Conservatives prefer to squander over £100,000 on a free parking giveaway – money that could have paid for five zebra crossings. As it is, Labour’s priorities simply encourage more cars on the road.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.