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Parents angered as council rejects crossing plans

John Devine,in Marchand
Aimee Dexter
News imageJohn Devine/BBC Yola Caprin is standing in front of a gate which is on the right. She has long black hair and black sunglasses on her head. She is wearing a khaki hoodie and fur coat. John Devine/BBC
Yola Caprin said people travel "about 40 or 50mph" on the road outside the school and pre-school

Parents and teachers say they have been left frustrated after a council turned down a proposal for pelican crossings and flashing speed limit signs to be put outside a school and pre-school.

Concerns had been raised about safety on the street outside Westwood Community Primary and Maple Grove Pre-School, on Maple Grove in March, Cambridgeshire.

Yola Caprin, whose child attends Westwood, said cars would often speed at "40 or 50mph... an absolute hazard for the children".

Cambridgeshire County Council said there had not been enough accidents resulting in injury in the area to reach its threshold to implement more safety measures.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC A blue gate has a sign on it which says Westwood Community Primary School in white writing on a blue background. There is a field in the background. John Devine/BBC
Westwood Community Primary School is on Maple Grove

Caprin said she was "extremely concerned" about the driving in the area, adding: "I have seen some parents nearly being hit, so a pelican crossing is an absolute must for this road."

The authority said it was "not in a position to allocate funding for an engineering scheme" as the road had not met its usual criteria of having had three serious crashes, or six collisions causing injury of any severity, within the last three years.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC Zoe Barnes is standing near a small car park which has several cars in it. She has light brown hair in a ponytail with a fringe and is wearing black-framed glasses and a black fleece.John Devine/BBC
Zoe Barnes said the pre-school had been providing extra staff out of school hours

Zoe Barnes, who works at the pre-school, said it had lost its lollipop person before Christmas due to "abuse from parents and from the general public".

She said the school had been providing extra staff for clubs out of school hours due to the vacant position.

"We care about getting the children across safely, and that is a financial impact for us as well," she added.

She said it was "disgusting" that the council would not implement measures.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat-led council said the authority was "trying to recruit new patrol officers" for two crossing patrol sites - on Maple Grove and the other on adjacent Norwood Road.

The authority added that its road safety education team was happy to work with schools to review their school travel plan.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC Wendy Fieldhouse is standing on a pavement next to a road. She has dark brown hair in a ponytail and is wearing black-framed glasses and a black coat. John Devine/BBC
Wendy Fieldhouse has two children at Westwood Primary School

Wendy Fieldhouse, who has two children at the primary, said her family were "taking a risk every day crossing the road... you take your life into your own hands".

Responding to the council's statement that they would not implement measures, she said: "I think that is absolutely disgusting, do they want deaths before they do something?"

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