Baschurch school pupils get funding to design signs for safety initiative
Road safety improvements are desperately needed on a road in Shropshire which serves two schools and a pre-school.
Alan Herbert, headteacher of Baschurch Primary School, says pupils and parents would love too walk to school along Eyton Lane but are too scared.
He said there was not a morning when he did not see school buses mount the pavement on the lane.
Both the primary and Corbet secondary school have met with West Mercia police and Shropshire Council to look at ways of alerting drivers to the dangers.
Now a scheme to install eye-catching signs, designed by pupils, has been approved. It received £1,250 from the Five Perry Parishes local joint committee last week.
The funding application said parking by residents and parents meant that Eyton Lane was narrowed during peak rush hour at both schools.
"This makes it very difficult for buses to pass safely without riding the pavements, which are often busy at that point with children.
"There isn't a morning when I don't see a bus mount the pavement," Mr Herbert said.
The schools are running a competition to design signs for either end of Eyton Lane. Mr Herbert said: "We are seeking to raise awareness in drivers, young people and local families.
"Raising awareness is the first step in a larger project to find permanent solution that will improve the safety in Eyton Lane."
A similar project was carried out in Ruyton-XI-Towns which eased the situation outside St John the Baptist Primary School. Pupils at the primary school will be involved in conducing traffic and road safety survey while the year 10 pupils at the Corbet will be invited to take part in the competition to design the signs.
Mr Herbert said: "We hope the project will be positive for the community and have a lasting impact on young people's awareness of safety."
