A school at the centre of controversial proposals to improve safety on Knutsford Road is hoping that a compromise can be found.
Earlier this year Cheshire East councillors met with the management team and PTA at Lindow Community Primary School, at their request, for them to highlight their concerns over the dangers of crossing this busy road.
As a result proposals were developed which include installing a new Puffin signal controlled crossing on Knutsford Road, making Church Road a one-way system and relocating the bus stop lay-by from Knutsford Road to Gravel Lane.
Zoe Wilson, Headteacher at Lindow Community Primary School, said "The Head Teacher and Governors at Lindow Primary School have been very concerned about the safety of our children on the journey to and from school for many years. problem has only got worse as the roads have got busier and the number of pupils attending our school has increased.
"We and Cheshire East Council (CEC) have been discussing many possible solutions to reduce the danger for children on both Upcast Lane and Knutsford Road for a long time. The school had requested that the council look at the provision of a safer crossing option on Knutsford Road, as we all agreed it is not safe for children and their families to cross this very busy fast road on a daily basis. We are grateful for the support and time that CEC has invested in discussing these ongoing concerns with us."
However, the plans have been met with opposition from some local business owners, their customers and some residents. As a result a petition containing 493 signatures has been submitted to Cheshire East Council calling for them to abandon the proposals. Instead they are requesting that Cheshire East Council uses any allocated funding to introduce traffic calming measures and improve signage.
Wilmslow Town Council also objected to the proposals from Cheshire East Highways because they felt they were not acceptable in their current form and require further consultation.
Zoe Wilson added "We were delighted when Cheshire East councillors attended a recent Governors' meeting to tell us the engineers at the council had investigated the issues and were proposing a plan to fund a Puffin Crossing. However, we understand that, during the recent public consultation about the crossing and the changes that would be made to the local road system, there has been objections and issues raised from within the local community.
"As a school, our primary concern is for the safety of our pupils, but we also recognise and understand the objections that have been raised to the plan. We have been heartened by the many supportive comments from the local community on social media stating that children's safety is of paramount importance.
"We would welcome any further discussion about any crossing solutions that the Highways Team at the council might put forward as an alternative workable option. We sincerely hope that there may be a compromise that would improve the dangerous situation for Lindow pupils, but mitigate the issues and concerns raised by our neighbours and local businesses to the current plan."
Comments
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The crossing at Knutsford Road would be so much safer given the addition of an inexpensive, low-tech piece of kit............a Lollypop Lady!
When the penny drops with our council that, if you build houses people with kids may well buy them and require school places. Roll on the 3000 kid high school.