‘This Council believes children should be able to walk or cycle to school safely. This is good for the health and independence of children, reduces the need for unnecessary car journeys and alleviates congestion. It is vital that the Council provides the appropriate infrastructure to enable this.
A crossing is needed on A327 Shinfield Road to access Crosfields School and for the benefit of residents and workers. Shinfield Road is very busy at rush hour and it is not realistic that anyone, particularly children, would choose to walk/cycle to work or school when they have to cross such a busy road without a formal crossing, as they cannot do so safely. A week long December 2023 pedestrian survey undertaken by parents and residents shows that the requirement for 50 crossings per hour in the peak hours has been met and indeed exceeded already. A crossing would encourage many more pupils to walk to school, particularly those in the new Senior School.
Those that try and cross face extreme difficulty crossing the road, particularly in the dusk/dark. A 7 year old boy was recently knocked down and injured on his way to Crosfields School, by a cyclist overtaking a bus. Paramedics struggled to treat him due to the volume of cars on the road. Minor collisions and near misses are a regular occurrence. At peak times, gaps in the traffic to enable someone to cross are few and far between. Pedestrians have to weave across unrelenting traffic or wait for a motorist to stop. It is only a matter of time before a more serious accident occurs.
This is the ONLY school in the Borough on an A road without a crossing. Crosfields School has offered to make a contribution towards a crossing. This Council will deliver a crossing without further delay to make access to this school safe.’
Chief Finance Officer Comment:
‘Implementing a new crossing is likely to cost between £100k to £200k depending on location, road type, design and specification. The exact cost of delivering this scheme in this location would need to be evaluated. If no external funding is available the Council would need to borrow to undertake these works, creating a revenue pressure of potentially £7.5k to £15k p.a.’
The Chief Finance Officer comments are purely an assessment of the financial Implications associated with the Motion as written and are not an opinion on the policy direction or intention contained within them.
Minutes:
Council considered the following Motion, submitted by Councillor Pauline Jorgensen and seconded by Councillor Charles Margetts.
‘This Council believes children should be able to walk or cycle to school safely. This is good for the health and independence of children, reduces the need for unnecessary car journeys and alleviates congestion. It is vital that the Council provides the appropriate infrastructure to enable this.
A crossing is needed on A327 Shinfield Road to access Crosfields School and for the benefit of residents and workers. Shinfield Road is very busy at rush hour and it is not realistic that anyone, particularly children, would choose to walk/cycle to work or school when they have to cross such a busy road without a formal crossing, as they cannot do so safely. A week long December 2023 pedestrian survey undertaken by parents and residents shows that the requirement for 50 crossings per hour in the peak hours has been met and indeed exceeded already. A crossing would encourage many more pupils to walk to school, particularly those in the new Senior School.
Those that try and cross face extreme difficulty crossing the road, particularly in the dusk/dark. A 7 year old boy was recently knocked down and injured on his way to Crosfields School, by a cyclist overtaking a bus. Paramedics struggled to treat him due to the volume of cars on the road. Minor collisions and near misses are a regular occurrence. At peak times, gaps in the traffic to enable someone to cross are few and far between. Pedestrians have to weave across unrelenting traffic or wait for a motorist to stop. It is only a matter of time before a more serious accident occurs.
This is the ONLY school in the Borough on an A road without a crossing. Crosfields School has offered to make a contribution towards a crossing. This Council will deliver a crossing without further delay to make access to this school safe.’
Councillor Pauline Jorgensen indicated that the road outside the school was not easy to cross for cyclists and pedestrians, and that a young boy had been knocked down and injured by a cyclist. Paramedics had struggled to treat the boy on site due to the busyness of the road. Crosfield School was one of the only schools in the Borough along an A road that did not have a crossing. Councillor Jorgensen had met with the School and officers in October 2021 to discuss crossing and cycle access. A petition had been raised and she had also asked a question at a Council meeting. However, no action had been taken. The School had offered to contribute to the cost of a crossing.
The following amendment was proposed by Councillor Paul Fishwick and seconded by Councillor Andrew Mickleburgh.
“This Council believes children should be able to walk or cycle to school safely. This is good for the health and independence of children, reduces the need for unnecessary car journeys and alleviates congestion. It is vital that the Council provides the appropriate infrastructure to enable this.
A crossing is needed on A327 Shinfield Road to access Crosfields School and for the benefit of residents and workers. Shinfield Road is very busy at rush hour and it is not realistic that anyone, particularly children, would choose to walk/cycle to work or school when they have to cross such a busy road without a formal crossing, as they cannot do so safely. A week long December 2023 pedestrian survey undertaken by parents and residents shows that the requirement for 50 crossings per hour in the peak hours has been met and indeed exceeded already. A crossing would encourage many more pupils to walk to school, particularly those in the new Senior School.
Those that try and cross face extreme difficulty crossing the road, particularly in the dusk/dark. A 7 year old boy was recently knocked down and injured on his way to Crosfields School, by a cyclist overtaking a bus. Paramedics struggled to treat him due to the volume of cars on the road. Minor collisions and near misses are a regular occurrence. At peak times, gaps in the traffic to enable someone to cross are few and far between. Pedestrians have to weave across unrelenting traffic or wait for a motorist to stop. It is only a matter of time before a more serious accident occurs.
This is the
ONLY school in the Borough on an A road without a crossing.
Crosfields School has offered to make a contribution towards a
crossing. This Council will deliver a crossing without
further delay when the technical assessment meets the criteria
and funding becomes available to make access to this school
safer.
At this point in the meeting, 10.01pm, a 10 minute adjournment was held to consider the proposed amendment.
Councillor Paul Fishwick commented that he and Councillor Jones had met with parents and staff of Crosfield School, and that he had a lot of sympathy for their desire for a safe crossing. He highlighted crossings that had been installed and the creation of a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan. Within that Plan was a route for the Shinfield Road which went past the school. Councillor Fishwick stated that approximately 20 requests for crossings were received per year and that each scheme had to be assessed to determine its benefits. Those areas most in need had to be prioritised. The threshold for a crossing had not been met when an assessment had been undertaken in June 2022. A more recent assessment had been undertaken and would be assessed by officers.
The proposer of the original Motion, Councillor Pauline Jorgensen, did not accept the amendment.
Councillor Andrew Mickleburgh commented that the Council was committed to the promotion of active travel. He indicated that situations changed over time, and that the amendment enabled due process to be followed.
Councillor Andy Croy indicated that he volunteered with Community Speedwatch. There were many areas in the Borough where crossings were wanted, and he sympathised with residents’ concerns. He stated that due process needed to be followed for the allocation of resources.
Councillor Laura Blumenthal read a statement from the child who had been hit and injured on the road and who was now afraid to walk to school. She referred to the Chief Finance Officer’s comment regarding the possible cost of a crossing and stated that it was not possible to put a price on a child’s life.
Councillor Catherine Glover indicated that as a ward member for Shinfield South, she liaised with Shinfield Parish Council regarding highways issues in the parish. In principle they had no objection to any measures which made cycling and walking safer and recognised the congestion in the area. However, this was also the issue elsewhere in the ward and the Borough. The Parish Council had not identified Shinfield Road as an area of the highest priority. She commented that the correct process needed to be followed when assessing the requests. Finally, she stated that no discussion had been held with the Parish Council regarding the original Motion.
Councillor Graham Howe emphasised that every child mattered.
Councillor Sarah Kerr referred to her own experience of one of her children having an accident on a busy road on the way home from school. She commented that it was important to listen to experts and their recommendations regarding priority. Councillor Kerr commented that should people have an issue with the process then they should challenge this.
Councillor Rebecca Margetts read a testimony from a child who lived near the school which highlighted the difficulties of walking to school. She did not support the amendment and felt that it did not give a target date for the installation of a crossing and delayed any action being taken.
Councillor Andrew Gray supported the amendment and emphasised the importance of fairness across the Borough, and the fact that requests needed to be considered in the same way. He felt that should the case be sufficiently strong for the installation of a crossing, that it should be entirely funded by the Council.
Councillor Stephen Conway also highlighted the need to be fair and equitable across the Borough. He indicated that he was aware of children being injured travelling to and from school in other areas. If a crossing was installed at Crosfield School and it was not the highest priority for action, then other areas could potentially be disadvantaged.
Councillor Keith Baker indicated that the Council’s highest priority should always be its residents. He highlighted that a crossing had previously been requested at Floreat Montague Primary School, and that this had not been actioned.
Councillor Prue Bray commented that she understood parents wanting a crossing at the school, but other schools were in a similar situation. It was not possible to make decisions for emotional reasons given the limited resources that the Council had.
Councillor Charles Margetts stated that it was vital that appropriate infrastructure was provided, and referred to the previous request for a crossing at Floreat Montague Primary School. He re-emphasised that Crosfield School was offering to contribute to the cost of the crossing, and questioned how much longer it would take for a crossing to be put into place.
Councillor Pauline Jorgensen indicated that she had met with officers to progress the crossing and cycle routes and that progress had been very slow. She felt that the parents had provided comprehensive evidence that a crossing was required. She pointed out the most recent assessment had, had to be redone due to errors, and stated that installing a crossing should be a high priority.
Upon being put to the vote, the amendment was carried and became the substantive Motion.
Upon being put to the vote it was:
RESOLVED: That this Council believes children should be able to walk or cycle to school safely. This is good for the health and independence of children, reduces the need for unnecessary car journeys and alleviates congestion. It is vital that the Council provides the appropriate infrastructure to enable this.
A crossing is needed on A327 Shinfield Road to access Crosfields School and for the benefit of residents and workers. Shinfield Road is very busy at rush hour and it is not realistic that anyone, particularly children, would choose to walk/cycle to work or school when they have to cross such a busy road without a formal crossing, as they cannot do so safely. A week long December 2023 pedestrian survey undertaken by parents and residents shows that the requirement for 50 crossings per hour in the peak hours has been met and indeed exceeded already. A crossing would encourage many more pupils to walk to school, particularly those in the new Senior School.
Those that try and cross face extreme difficulty crossing the road, particularly in the dusk/dark. A 7 year old boy was recently knocked down and injured on his way to Crosfields School, by a cyclist overtaking a bus. Paramedics struggled to treat him due to the volume of cars on the road. Minor collisions and near misses are a regular occurrence. At peak times, gaps in the traffic to enable someone to cross are few and far between. Pedestrians have to weave across unrelenting traffic or wait for a motorist to stop. It is only a matter of time before a more serious accident occurs.
This is the ONLY school in the Borough on an A road without a crossing. Crosfields School has offered to make a contribution towards a crossing. This Council will deliver a crossing when the technical assessment meets the criteria and funding becomes available to make access to this school safer.