PARENTS ARE seriously concerned about the safety of their children when walking to school.
Residents in Norreys contacted Cllr Rachel Burgess, Labour ward councillor, about road safety near The Holt School, as their children cross Milton Road.
The Labour group leader visited the site at the end of the school day, to see the issue for herself.
“I have witnessed just how dangerous the area at the junction of Jubilee Avenue and Milton Road is at busy times, with cars going in different directions on and off the mini roundabout, people pulling up on the roads, and students unsure whether it is safe to cross,” Cllr Burgess said.
“Residents call it an accident waiting to happen.”
The borough council is planning a crossing on Milton Road as part of the Greenway extension from Cantley Park.
However this does nothing to help The Holt School students, said Cllr Burgess, as it is in the wrong place.
“The proposed crossing serves the Greenway only,” she said. “Students crossing Milton Road at the proposed crossing site will still have to cross the very busy Jubilee Avenue, and possibly Holt Lane as well, in order to get to school.
“These roads are just as chaotic and dangerous at busy times of day.”
Cllr Burgess said that the vast majority of students this affects live in her ward of Norreys.
“We all know how important it is for children to walk to school but in these conditions I can understand why parents choose to drive, as they are rightly concerned about their children’s safety,” she said.
Cllr Burgess set up a petition to Wokingham Borough Council calling for a safe crossing at this location. It has had hundreds of signatures. She will be presenting the petition on behalf of concerned parents at the council meeting this evening.
