Parents campaign over road safety (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Parents campaign over road safety

7:30am Saturday 18th October 2008

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PARENTS and schools in two Hampshire villages are campaigning for safer roads.

Winchester MP Mark Oaten is helping those in Waltham Chase and Curdridge to get traffic-calming measures near schools on the B2177 and on Outlands Lane respectively.

Parents of pupils who attend the St John the Baptist C of E Primary School, in Waltham Chase, and members of the local Women’s Institute have been lobbying Hampshire County Council for better road safety measures in their village for more than a year.

Waltham Chase is on the busy B2177, and the school is situated in Solomon's Lane, close to the Shedfield end of the village.

Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate, Liz Leffman, is also helping with the campaign.

She said: “Traffic coming into Waltham Chase often does not observe the 30mph speed limit. Many parents and elderly people have stories about near misses with lorries and other vehicles. They want to see better traffic-calming and a road crossing at the Shedfield end of the village close to the school.

“The WI conducted a traffic survey in the village to establish the need for a crossing but their findings have been disputed by the county council who also conducted a survey.

“According to the county council the level of traffic on this road does not justify a crossing. However, the assessment criteria that are used by Hampshire County Council differ from those applied by other counties. If Waltham Chase were in, for example, Cheshire, the level of traffic would justify further investigation of a crossing.”

Ms Leffman and Mr Oaten were invited by Rachel Hicks, a mother with children at the school, to attend a public meeting last year, and has been involved with the campaign to improve road safety ever since.

Mr Oaten is also looking into getting traffic-calming measures in Curdridge.

Richard Paine, who lives in Outlands Lane, in Curdridge, said: “I live on the main Wickham road. It is a very busy road and there are lots of kids who cross Outlands Lane and the traffic goes along at 50 or 60mph. It is so dangerous trying to cross the road.

“I have one child who has just left Caterpillars Pre-school and goes to the main Curdridge Primary School and another who is about to start Caterpillars and there are many in the village who have children that go to both.

“We feel we have to drive to the school because the road is so busy. It is a nightmare. The signs are not particularly good, at one point it says 50 mph and then slow.

“We could not get a zebra crossing there because the road is too fast, but we need more traffic management. We couldn’t let the kids cross the road on their own, not matter how old they are.”

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