Safer routes to school petition launched
19 July 2007
A petition calling for an essential schools road safety initiative to be reintroduced in Bristol has been launched.
The online petition has been drawn up to encourage Bristol City Council to bring back the Safe Routes for School scheme for pupils at Westbury Church of England School, in Westbury.
The popular scheme is designed to not only decrease traffic and pollution on busy road junctions, but also encourage children to walk and cycle to school by creating safe routes.
The city council first put forward plans to implement the scheme more almost three years ago. However, it recently withdrew those proposals, claiming there had been an insufficient number of child casualties in the area to warrant its introduction.
That decision comes despite latest figures showing that more than 2,000 children died on British roads last year, while around 100 children in Bristol were injured or killed on the roads in the same period.
In response to the city council's decision, campaigners, led by Conservative Councillor Geoff Gollop have set up an online petition to bring back the 'Safer Routes to School' scheme for Westbury Church of England School. It has already attracted more than 100 signatures.
The petition has received support from Charlotte Leslie, the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bristol North West, who has called on Bristol residents to support the initiative.
She said: "The council seems to be saying that children have to be run over before we look seriously at their road-safety. That is absurd and it is dangerous.
"The Safer Routes to School scheme not only makes it safer for children to get to school, but also helps gets cars off the road to ease congestion. It is a win-win situation.
"We want the council to go ahead with the safer routes to school programme before any child gets hurt. Emergency action after the event is action too late. "
Conservative Councillor Geoff Gollop said: "This is an outrageous treatment of local residents and, most of all, parents and children of Westbury C of E school.
"We will be making the views of Westbury residents heard in our council meeting next week, and I encourage anyone with a view to come along and attend."