Parents call on MP in road safety fight
Saturday 13th June 2009, 9:47AM BST.
Campaigners fighting for road safety improvements outside a Shropshire school have called on the help of their MP.
Parking restrictions have already been put in place outside Ifton Heath Primary School, Overton Road, Ifton Heath, near St Martins, to ease congestion after claims it had become dangerous. Now campaigners are calling for further safety improvements.
Nicola Roberts, Ifton Heath headteacher, said the extended zig-zag area and the pull-in had eased the problem slightly regarding parents parking outside the school, but she said the pedestrian issue still persists.
Mr Paterson met teachers and parents at the school – and vowed to take the matter up with Shropshire Council.
Martin Withington, Shropshire Council head of transportation, said: “Fortunately, this section of the Overton Road currently has a good safety record. For this reason it would not receive a sufficient priority rating to be considered at the present time.
“We also run a Safer Routes to School (SRTS) programme which provides funding for new infrastructure for example a new pedestrian crossing, where it can be shown to be a priority in terms of increasing sustainable travel.
“Following requests from residents we will be reviewing the school’s travel plan to assess whether this project may be eligible for funding from the SRTS programme.”
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
I would urge the Ifton Heath Primary School campaigners to be aware of unrepresentative organisations, called the Drivers’ Alliance, the Association of British Drivers and Safe Speed, whose supporters use these threads and who vocally oppose sensible measures introduced by locals to improve road safety.
See http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/06/13/group-to-air-views-of-drivers/
http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/07/03/villagers-fear-fatal-diversion-smash/
See also http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/10/21/arson-attack-on-speed-camera/ #127
To find out more about the groups above, I recommend these articles by journalist George Monbiot on his website 1) ‘They call themselves the voice of the driver. But who do they really represent?’ (Guardian, February 3, 2004); 2) ‘They call themselves libertarians…’ December 20th 2005; 3) ’Paul Smith and Safe Speed – the Self-Exposure of a Crank’ December 22, 2005.
Good luck with your campaign.
Report abuse