Petition launched for new safety measures on incident-prone street near Northampton primary school

A concerned dad has got 253 signatures from parents at his daughter's school after they have shared their worries over the risks children face when crossing Lings Way and Crestwood Road.

David Byres launched his campaign after a ten-year-old boy was airlifted to Birmingham Childrens hospital on September 25 when the youngster ran out into the road and collided with a van. Northamptonshire Police confirmed to this newspaper on Monday (October 5) that he is recovering well.

Since then, parents at Woodvale Primary School are asking for the speed limit to be reduced from 40mph to 30mph on Lings Way with the introduction of speed bumps near major crossings.

They also want extra traffic calming measures to be installed in Crestwood Road as they claim the zebra crossing and temporary 20mph sign is routinely ignored because they're badly positioned.

David said: "I have spoken to a number of parents as I stand there waiting for my child and the standard of driving around that area is atrocious mainly due to the design of the road and how busy it is at peak times.

"The cars park on the sides of the road and sometimes and I've seen cars drive through the zebra crossing while children are standing there."

David thinks the Crestwood Road should permenantly become a 20mph zone, the zebra crossing should be raised or changed to become a pelican crossing and there should be more visable signage from Chatsworth Avenue.

"I want to start a discussion about what can be done," he added. "It's scary because my 10-year-old walks that way to school and I'm not aware of any schools around the area that have a 40mph speed limit near them.

"It's been an ongoing concern for a number of years. I'm happy that there's a number of people who have taken time to sign the petition. It's unfortunate that there have been incidents around the area for this to be done and it should not take a member of the public for a change to be made."

Three years ago, councillor Dennis Meredith (Lib Dems) reported his concerns to Highways at Northamptonshire County Council and the speed on Crestwood Road has been reduced temporarily and a slowdown sign was been put in place.

Dennis said: "It's always chaos at 3.30pm when parents pick their kids up from school. When they built this place they did not make sure there was a proper drop off space for parents and that's what happens every day.

"This is a common problem with all schools which are situated on the main roads. And I have brought this to the attention of the county council asking for action but I’m afraid they have not come up with any answers.

“I will continue to make representations on this area and I can assure you I aware of the concerns and the school is also aware regarding the problem."