Mothers plead for crossing near Yorkshire school after boy is knocked down

Caron Britton, parent and parent governor at Birley Spa Academy primary school, in Sheffield, helped to launch a petition calling for action. She told Sheffield City Council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy committee: “We’re here for the provision of a pedestrian crossing on Birley Spa Lane, due to a lad from our school being knocked over a few months ago.”

She said the road is also close to St John Fisher primary school and there is a raised area in the road known as a speed table, which at one time had a school crossing patrol. The pavement has the only dropped kerb and ‘blister pavement’ on that part of the road for people with visual and other disabilities, wheelchairs and pushchairs to use.

Carron said: “It’s the main access for both the schools, neither of which are suitable for a school as it’s not a recognised crossing. Unfortunately, you do get a lot of children crossing the road, hence the reason why somebody did get knocked over a few months ago, because there is no stopping.

“There’s limited signage in the area to highlight that there are schools in the area and they are a little bit outdated because there did used to be a lollipop lady but there hasn’t been one there for four years.” Carron said that the school crossing warden vacancy had been open ‘for quite some time’. It is a main heavy bus route for the 120 bus route and obviously one of the main routes from Birley Manor Lane to Crystal Peaks as well.” Carron said that drivers often break the 30mph speed limit.

The boy who was knocked down and his mother gave a written impact statement and pupils at Birley Spa primary wrote to support the changes.

Jayne Mason, S12 Neighbourhood Watch coordinator, said the roads outside the schools are in a 20mph area and suggested extending that along Birley Spa Lane from Occupation Lane to Dyke Vale Avenue.

She said: “I was actually nearly run over on there a couple of months back. I’d only just started crossing the road, a bus came flying down and I actually went into the bus stop when he’d pulled in and said ‘what are you doing, you nearly knocked me over’. He was like ‘you shouldn’t be crossing there, it’s not a crossing point’.

“As far as we’re aware, the speed table means that that is a crossing point, but when the speed table was put in it didn’t warrant higher measures like a zebra crossing, but I don’t think a lot of road users are aware that that is a crossing point that people use – not just for the school, the elderly use it.

“I myself am disabled and use a mobility scooter. That’s the only crossing that I can get across but sometimes you are waiting five, 10 minutes to get across that road.”

Committee chair Coun Mazher Iqbal suggested that ward councillors could set up a visit to the area with him to discuss solutions. He added: “We get requests from across the city very similar to this one. We have a system we use and look at what we can do to make it safer.

“Outside London, Sheffield is probably one of the worst in the country where we have fatalities for 0-15-year-olds. It is embarrassing for us as a city. Children are asking us to make that place safe and it will be assessed.”