Town councillors have given their initial support to proposals for a new pedestrian crossing to be built outside King Alfred School Academy in Burnham Road, Highbridge.
It come after councillors considered a letter from a local resident proposing the new crossing at the latest meeting of the Planning Applications Committee.
Councillors resolved to ‘support in principle’ the proposal and meet with the school’s head teacher to discuss the matter further and assess the need.
It comes after Burnham-On-Sea.com recently reported here that the Town Council has also supported a separate proposal for a new crossing near St Joseph’s School in Oxford Street, backing an initial feasibility study to assess its need.
In the letter to councillors about the King Alfred School proposal, the resident states: “Having just seen the proposal for a new pedestrian crossing for the school on Oxford Street, I would urge you to also propose a new one near King Alfred’s School.”
“Safety for school children crossing the road from the Apex/Burnham side of the school must be improved. The amount of near misses I have witnessed recently is rather shocking. A form of pedestrian crossing, in my opinion, is needed in between the King Alfred entrance road and the petrol station.”
“This would also benefit the people I see trying to cross at the mini roundabout, which at times can be very dangerous too. To further improve the safety around King Alfred school I would like to suggest that double yellow lines are extended around the junction of North Avenue (opposite the school entrance road). The amount of cars parking close to the junction is constantly increasing, which blocks the view of anyone wanting to exit from North Avenue.”
“Overall this little section of road has, and will continue to become very dangerous. I urge you to act on it now before a fatality does occur. I trust you will consider this seriously.”
Cllr Barbara Vickers told the council meeting: “All the points in the letter are quite valid. I am surprised a crossing isn’t already there. I think we need to get input from the school’s head teacher to understand the full position, just as we did at St Joseph’s.”
Cllr Peter Clayton pointed out that a road crossing already exists near the exit to the school, but not the entrance, and he added that he would give his initial support to a new one.
Cllr Mike Facey told a meeting earlier in the month that the process for implementing new crossings is lengthy and starts with a feasibility study “which would cost Somerset Council around £7-10,000.” He added: “If the crossing passes the feasibility study it would then be considered for pricing for engineering and construction. That’s between £70-100,000 as an average. We have to be realistic given the state of the finances at Somerset Council, but safety has to be a high priority.”
