Schoolchildren conduct traffic campaign

SUFFOLK'S spokesman on roads and traffic has visited Bungay to speak to an enterprising group of schoolchildren who conducted their own campaign on traffic problems outside their school.

The junior road safety officers at St Edmund's Catholic Primary School invited people to tell them of accidents or near misses on or near the crossing in St Mary's Street after a woman pedestrian was hurt in an accident there last year.

They had a good response, and when Guy McGregor, the county council's portfolio holder for roads and transport, was invited to visit them to hear about their efforts he readily responded.

He spent some time at school discussing concerns about the crossing outside the school, along with Morris Rose, Bungay's county councillor, and road safety officer Ann Battershill.

Two parents of children at the school who have grave concerns of the traffic and safety in Bungay were also there.

Mr McGregor was welcomed by Francesca, Tommie, Katy and Florence, the year six officers. They were carrying on the work from their predecessors, targeting the dangers for all pedestrians in Bungay.

They said their main concerns were the faded lines on the crossing, the almost invisibility of the beacons, trees obscuring the lights and lack of noticeable signs to indicate there was a school or there was a crossing.

Having looked at their evidence which included photos of lorries and cars stopping on the crossing, records of incidents on the crossing collected by parents of the school and the public in Bungay, he agreed that these were problems and they could be rectified.

After a site tour he assured the children that he would personally sanction the repainting of the lines, new beacons and more signs. The school would arrange to have the trees cut back to increase awareness and visibility.

Wendy Walpole, who has been involved with the project, said: “We are impressed with Mr McGregor's acceptance of the children's invitation to come to the school. He was very good with them and directed his answers to them and not just to the adults. The JRSOs had done their research well and he was impressed by their questions and general manner.”

And she said the lines had been repainted already.

Incident forms are still available at the school for anyone who wants to report an incident on or near the crossing.