Fear for Pupils' Safety
Wednesday, 9th April 2003.
A SCHOOL in Haverhill is campaigning for a zebra crossing to be provided so pupils can cross the road safely.
Barbara Maguire, headteacher at Coupals Primary School in Chalkstone Way, said on many occasions children could not see to cross the road because of parked cars, buses and lorries.
At present, parents and children use a traffic calming hump outside the school as a crossing point, said Mrs Maguire.
"We have asked for a crossing. We understand that the humps are going to be altered and as there is such a problem with people parking, making it difficult for our children to find a safe place to cross, we thought it might be a good place for a crossing," she said.
"There is a hump adjacent to the school and the children tend to cross there as they think it is a safe place to cross.
"Some people do slow down for them, but we have had people complaining about children just walking out in front of them. There is a new initiative with extra funding to get children safely to school and we thought it would be a good opportunity.
"It is a very busy road, which joins the two ends of Haverhill. We are encouraging them to walk to be nice and healthy, but there is a particular problem with crossing the road and it is worrying."
Chris Cullum, a campaigner for alterations to the Chalkstone humps to reduce speeding traffic on the estate, and a parent of two children at the school, said he was very concerned about the situation.
"It is very dangerous to cross the road there. There was a coach parked up one side and a lorry the other one day, just as the children were coming out of school. It causes chaos and they know they should not be parked there. Something needs to be done before a child gets hurt," he said.
A spokesman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said the authority would look at whether it was possible to provide a pedestrian crossing in the area when there were sufficient funds available.
"In the meantime we would encourage parents to be responsible and aware of safety issues and not park too close to the school when they drop off their children," the spokesman said.
Barbara Maguire, headteacher at Coupals Primary School in Chalkstone Way, said on many occasions children could not see to cross the road because of parked cars, buses and lorries.
At present, parents and children use a traffic calming hump outside the school as a crossing point, said Mrs Maguire.
"We have asked for a crossing. We understand that the humps are going to be altered and as there is such a problem with people parking, making it difficult for our children to find a safe place to cross, we thought it might be a good place for a crossing," she said.
"There is a hump adjacent to the school and the children tend to cross there as they think it is a safe place to cross.
"Some people do slow down for them, but we have had people complaining about children just walking out in front of them. There is a new initiative with extra funding to get children safely to school and we thought it would be a good opportunity.
"It is a very busy road, which joins the two ends of Haverhill. We are encouraging them to walk to be nice and healthy, but there is a particular problem with crossing the road and it is worrying."
Chris Cullum, a campaigner for alterations to the Chalkstone humps to reduce speeding traffic on the estate, and a parent of two children at the school, said he was very concerned about the situation.
"It is very dangerous to cross the road there. There was a coach parked up one side and a lorry the other one day, just as the children were coming out of school. It causes chaos and they know they should not be parked there. Something needs to be done before a child gets hurt," he said.
A spokesman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said the authority would look at whether it was possible to provide a pedestrian crossing in the area when there were sufficient funds available.
"In the meantime we would encourage parents to be responsible and aware of safety issues and not park too close to the school when they drop off their children," the spokesman said.
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