Worried parents demand Gobowen school crossing
Parents have demanded safety improvements near a Shropshire village school to protect their children from the 'atrocious' driving of speeding motorists.
More than 750 people in Gobowen have signed petitions calling for a pedestrian crossing on St Martins Road amid worries that speeding traffic along the main route will lead to a fatal accident.
The petitions were submitted to Shropshire Council's protecting and enhancing our environment committee on Monday.
Councillors agreed a safe crossing would be one of the first to be considered under Shropshire Council's new road safety policy framework, a strategy which gives added weight to campaigns that highlight community concern and have parish councils' backing.
The campaign received widespread support in Gobowen after the Safer Roads Partnership in West Mercia, who have sited a speed van on the road on a regular basis since October 2011, revealed about 1,300 motorists a day are breaking the 30mph speed limit on the road.
Parents taking their children to Gobowen Primary School said the high level of speeding had become a huge problem.
Claire Edwards, who walks her six-year-old daughter Cassie along St Martins Road to the school, said: "The cars only slow down when the speed van is there. You can tell when the speed van is not there because the cars come flying along.
"A lot of older children walk to school without their parents and your heart is in your mouth when you see the kids trying to cross."
Steve Jones, who crosses St Martins Road with his six-year-old son Finlay, said: "I went to the council meeting on Monday and things seem very promising. They have agreed work needs to be done although it has not been agreed whether that will be in the summer term or in September."
