CHILDREN at a Henley primary school want one extra thing from Santa this Christmas — a pedestrian crossing.
Head girl Mary Bowley, 10, wrote a letter to Father Christmas on behalf of pupils at Sacred Heart primary asking him to make it safer for them to go to and from school.
She asked for a zebra crossing in Greys Road where parents park when dropping off and collecting their children because parking is banned outside the school in Greys Hill.
Mary, from Gallowstree Common, wrote: “Cars drive way too fast down there and it is really dangerous to cross. I have spoken to lots of other pupils and lots of them are scared when they cross.We need something as soon as possible because so many children cross and you can’t see what’s coming. We think that we have been good all year so please visit us.”
Mary, a member of Henley Youth Council, has collected 123 signatures in support of a crossing.
Staff at Sacred Heart have been campaigning for Oxfordshire County Council to provide a crossing point since 2007, when they joined representatives from Valley Road School in a march to demand children’s walk to school was made safer.
Headteacher Karen Edwards said: “We have got absolutely nowhere since then. It’s a death trap of a road. You have drivers coming down there very quickly and aggressively and the last thing we want is for someone to get hurt.
“We have no parking around the school so it is better when parents are pulling up further away from the buildings but I’m worried that the roads can be dangerous. I’ve spoken to mothers who say their children have almost been hit and it just doesn’t bear thinking about. There are a lot of school and college children who cross that road and the absence of a crossing makes absolutely no sense.
“We are trying to get more pupils to walk, save emissions and be as active as possible but can’t even give them a safe route into school. What I don’t want is a crossing to be installed only because someone has been hurt or even killed. That scares me.”
Town councillor Barry Wood, who was Mayor in 2007 and set up the youth council, pledged the town council’s support.
“It’s obvious that a crossing is needed,” he said. “The county council told us previously that there wasn’t enough footfall for a crossing but there is irregular traffic throughout the week and people take their life into their hands crossing Greys Road in the mornings and afternoons.”
A county council spokesman said: “The council has committed to providing two school crossing patrols on Greys Road to serve Sacred Heart and Valley Road primary schools and is currently looking to fill those positions.
“The council receives many requests for pedestrian crossings but there is only a limited budget for such schemes. Strict criteria, such as accident history and practical site considerations, have to be used to identify where there is the greatest need.”
Published on 14 December 2009
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