Headteacher in plea to improve road safety near Hampshire school and 'save lives' (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Headteacher in plea to improve road safety near Hampshire school and 'save lives'
9:00am Sunday 2nd December 2012 in News
By Rachel Masker
Pupils from Perins present a case to county chiefs for a crossing near the school.
A HAMPSHIRE headteacher made a heartfelt plea to county chiefs to improve road safety near her school - and save lives.
Janice Bernard, head of Perins School in Alresford, said the “extremely busy” junction of Jacklyns Lane and West Street was the main pedestrian access to the school.
Yet it was a “completely blind corner,” so pupils trying to cross the road could not see around it and had to dodge between cars, buses and lorries.
Speaking to a meeting of the full council in Winchester on Thursday (Nov 29), Mrs Bernard quoted a pupil who said a few simple measures could “save lives.”
She appealed to the council to act quickly.
Councillors heard pupils had already come up with ideas to improve safety, including hatching and a raised hump in the middle of the road to slow traffic.
Other proposals included a wider pavement and a flashing sign to warn drivers there was a school nearby.
Mrs Bernard asked to meet transport chief, Councillor Mel Kendal, and director of transport, Stuart Jarvis, in a bid to resolve the problem.
Watching from the public gallery of the council chamber were five Perins pupils: Ross Hunter, 14, Ben Pape, 15, Aliza Exelby, 14, India Gilmore, 14, and Douglas Wicks 15.
Belgarum says...
5:45pm Sun 2 Dec 12
I'm sure that the headteacher is used to educating her pupils to look for hard evidence, and to base their opinions and decisions on a rigorous analysis of the facts, and not to rely on subjective, emotional feelings with no substance behind them.
So where's the evidence in this case, then? How many lives have actually been lost at this spot? And if the council spends our money putting these measures in place, what reduction in fatalities might we expect to see?
Or is it all emotional stuff and nonsense from somebody who is entrusted with educating our children and who really should know better?