John joined with parents and children to support calls for a safer crossing over the A415 to support parents and children in walking to school.
Parents of children at the Europa School UK living in Culham and other villages south of the A415 have long been concerned at crossing the busy road to get to school. The journey from the village to the school is short and easy to walk except for having to cross the main road. At present the traffic lights do not have an all stop in the sequence which means that the only opportunity to cross the road is while the lights change. This often means parents and children being stranded on a small island in the middle of the road. A pelican crossing with a time in the sequence to halt all traffic is being called for. Oxfordshire County Council has rejected the proposal.
John said “I was pleased today to support those in Culham who are campaigning for improvements to the crossing of the A415 to help get their children to school safely. It was a great pleasure to see so many of them. What I have said I will do is to write to the County Council to ask that a pelican crossing be put in. The electricity supply and other infrastructure is already in place. I simply do not buy the argument that it will cause a major disruption to the lights over Culham Bridge. It is required particularly at peak times. The safety of children should be paramount. This should be a simple job to complete and a simple decision to take.”
The Europa School UK has also written to the County Council to add its own concerns. The Principal has said that at present parents are driving children to school when they could walk if the route were safer.
John added “At a time when we are trying to encourage young people to walk where possible and not use cars this situation sets a poor example.”
