Mother wants crossing for children walking to school

A MOTHER is calling for a pedestrian crossing on a busy Henley road where she walks her children to school.

Anna Andrews says she has been reduced to tears while trying to help her children, Amber, four, and Sammy, six, get to Valley Road Primary School safely.

Amber is in a wheelchair of pushchair as she suffers from a MORC2-related disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system, so it makes the task harder.

Mrs Andrews, who lives in St Andrew’s Road, said: “A crossing would stop the cars and enable us to cross the road. If you are not able-bodied, you need more time to cross the road.

“We have to run across the road as there is no break in traffic so unless someone stops, we can’t cross.

“One morning I had to go into the road and put my hand out so that we could cross.

“It’s just really dangerous and somebody is going to get killed.”

She says that while it is important for children’s fitness and the environment to encourage families to walk to school, speeding drivers make it difficult.

Mrs Andrews, a charity chief executive, said: “It scares me but I’m determined to continue walking and do the right thing because we have a problem with obesity and the environment and yet still parents drive — it’s a disgrace.” She said that drivers didn’t abide by the 30mph limit in Greys Road and some travelled at 40mph.

They also splashed pedestrians when speeding past on wet days.

Mrs Andrews said: “One morning it was like a tidal wave in our faces. Everyone was going so fast to the point that we were trying to walk on the bank as we couldn’t avoid the massive puddles that the cars were speeding through.

“My son got to school completely soaked and I’m supposed to encourage him to continue walking.”

She says a crossing would also help residents of the Highlands Park development and children attending Gillotts School, which are both off Greys Road.

She said: “There are also lots of children going to Gillotts and it’s unbelievable they don’t have a crossing to use.”

Mrs Andrews, whose husband Daniel is head of sales account management at Invesco, said the lack of a crossing could put off parents from walking to school with their children, which could affect their health.

She said: “On one side, everyone is like: ‘Let’s be environmentally friendly’ and on the other people are getting in their cars, which is a major issue for our society. Children becoming obese is also a major issue for the NHS.”

Mrs Andrews, who is chief executive of Chance for Childhood and founder of Morcure, said: “I deal with these issues all the time.

“I run two charities, including one completely pro bono in my own time. I do my bit for society, yet who else is doing their bit?

“If enough people say: ‘We need a crossing’, Oxfordshire County Council has to listen.

“I am reduced to tears in the mornings and I don’t need that stress. I have enough responsibility and should not be reduced to tears going to school with my children. It is an outrage.”

Stefan Gawrysiak, who represents Henley on the county council, the highways authority, said he would take up Mrs Andrews’s case but warned that the process would be costly.

He said: “It certainly is a matter for the county council and we will look into it.

“We need to identify a safe place and see if it is feasible at this particular point, then decide what sort of crossing and whether it is a regular, zebra or pelican crossing with traffic lights.

“The next thing is to identify where the funding is going to come from because if it’s a regular crossing, you are looking at a cost of around £40,000 but a pelican crossing would cost around £130,000 — in other words, very expensive.

“We have put in a 20mph limit for the whole of Henley which will slow down traffic.

“It is also the responsibility of motorists to not drive through puddles, avoid pedestrians and be aware that when parents and children are going to school, they need to go slower.

“I think we would have to introduce traffic-calming measures as well.

“I agree that it is a fast stretch of road coming from Highlands Park and when you turn the corner down towards the Valley Road area, it may well be that motorists do not respect the 20mph limit.

“It’s not a question of campaigning, it’s a question of finding the right location as well as the funding. It takes so long because it’s difficult to get the funding.

“Previously, Henley Town Council has funded a crossing in lower Greys Road and on the Marlow road at Swiss Farm but finding £100,000 in a very tight budget is difficult.

“If the money was available, I would do it tomorrow. It does not need a campaign and I will follow this through by talking to Mrs Andrews and the highways officers at the county council.”