‘An accident waiting to happen’: Councillor pleased to see road safety measures now outside Northampton school

A Labour councillor is pleased to see road safety measures have now been put in place outside a Northampton school, which she described as an “accident waiting to happen” ahead of the changes being made.

Councillor Danielle Stone, who represents the Labour Party in Castle ward, has been campaigning for road safety features to be introduced outside Northampton International Academy for many years.

Alongside the principal, residents and retailers in the area, this campaign work has been ongoing since before the school was even opened in Barrack Road in September 2016.

Now, safety railings have been placed directly outside the school – so nobody can cross in the middle of the road and are directed to the two sets of traffic-lighted pelican crossings nearby.

When asked how she feels that the railings are now in place, Cllr Stone said: “I’m as pleased as you can be, and I’m reassured the children and adults at the school are safer than they were.

“It was a big worry about how unsafe the frontage was.”

With numerous phone calls from residents and shopkeepers worried about what could happen if nothing was done, Cllr Stone described the former state of the road as “so unsafe”.

She admits she used to stand and watch the chaos unfold, with families with young children running across and through the traffic.

“Barrack Road has a huge amount of traffic going in and out of town,” said Cllr Stone. “It’s a fast road and is used by large delivery lorries.

“The barriers should have been there from the start as the crossings for the school are way down each direction along the road.

“People will always take shortcuts if they can and it was an accident waiting to happen.”

Though this is a positive step in the right direction, Cllr Stone would still like to see more safety measures introduced – to give pedestrians priority.

These include raising the road and introducing speed bumps to slow down the traffic as it passes the International Academy.

“It’s like the wild west,” said Cllr Stone.

With air pollution worsening along the road as it is used by so many vehicles each day, Cllr Stone says slowing down the traffic will not only make it safer but will reduce pollution levels too.

Though there will still be busy periods of traffic, particularly around school drop off and pick up times and rush hour, the impact will be lessened if they are travelling slower.

She would also like to see safety zones created around schools, particularly those housed in residential areas – just like Northampton International Academy.

This measure would prevent cars from pulling up directly outside schools, which is a problem in Barrack Road, and there would be a 20 miles per hour speed limit.

Another issue raised by Cllr Stone is that the path that starts at the academy runs directly into the road, leading young people astray from where they should be walking.

Cllr Stone plans to continue campaigning for more to be done, alongside others who also feel passionately about road safety.