Road safety is yet again causing concern outside Broughton Primary School. Two police officers observed traffic behaviour at the scene this afternoon, and will report in due course.
New timed flashing lights, speed warnings and improved signage introduced locally have partially improved the situation over recent months. However, the ‘manned’ pedestrian crossing directly outside the school remains dangerous.
The problem is partly caused by the width of the road. When a vehicle travelling west stops at the red light, unsighted cars behind frequently take advantage of the wide road to sneak past on the inside. These drivers either don’t know or don’t care that a lollypop man/lady with children in tow may be just about to walk out in front of them. Such impatient – often verbally abusive – and downright dangerous drivers are causing the trouble.
Spurtle understands one ‘engineering’ solution being considered is to extend the pavement at the crossing, so narrowing the road to prevent insider veering.
Another – reactive rather than proactive, technically, financially and legally fraught with difficulty – would be to equip the lollypops themselves with cameras, so providing a record of dangerous driving.
Spurtle shares local parents’ unease at the situation, but doubts that our cash-strapped and bureaucratically inert Council will deviate from previous form and do anything prompt to address the issue. Locals have been lobbying since at least 2000 for a change to the shape of the pavement at the Broughton Road/East Claremont Street junction, and have received nothing more than sympathetic nods and non-specific outlines of good intent since.
CEC, it seems, is all in favour of promoting safe routes to school on paper. Unfortunately, road deaths happen on tarmac.