Bromley Council has been asked to add zebra crossings outside two schools in Petts Wood, Orpington.
The petition, signed by 1,436 people, asks for the authority to add crossings on Crofton Lane beside Crofton Infant School and on Towncourt Lane near Crofton Junior School.
It said that the crossing currently in place on Crofton Lane is not marked or visible to drivers, while there is no crossing at all on Towncourt Lane.
It added: “Due to no proper crossing, some drivers either do not see that this is a spot where pedestrians will cross, or they do not feel obliged to stop given no requirement… [Parents with children] are often ignored by the drivers as some drivers will allow pedestrians to cross, but most of the others don’t and this unfortunately will either cause accidents or we will be honked at.”
The topic was discussed at a Bromley Council meeting on March 11. Karina Malka, who started the petition, said at the meeting that the two schools had 1,305 pupils between them and combined they were one of the largest primary schools in the country.
She claimed that petitioners were aware of 76 near misses involving children outside the school.
She said at the meeting: “Let us prioritise the wellbeing of our children. Let us invest and save. Is the cost of installing a zebra crossing more than the potential cost of a child’s life?”
The petition claimed there had been six adult casualties in the area around the school in the past three years.
Data from Crashmap.co.uk states that six incidents involving serious injuries had occurred on Crofton Lane since 2018, with another also taking place on Towncourt Lane in 2019. In addition to that there have been a number of crashes involving minor injuries, although none fatal yet.
Conservative Councillor Nicholas Bennett, portfolio holder for road safety, said at the meeting that funding from Transport for London had been approved to carry out a study on road safety in the area.
He added that the results of the study would inform officers on what type of improvements in the area would be most beneficial.
Cllr Bennett said at the meeting: “I’ve got to rely on the expert advice of our traffic engineers. As I’m sure the petitioners will be aware, there are hundreds of schools in the borough and hundreds of applications every year for speed bumps and crossings. We have to do it on an evidence based matter.”
Conservative Councillor Tony Owen, who represents the Petts Wood and Knoll ward, said that only one of the six accidents mentioned in the petition had occurred during school hours.
He said the authority should take time to understand the outcome of the upcoming study and possibly provide further road safety awareness training to children in the area.
Cllr Owen said at the meeting: “We’re actually being presented here with a solution for a problem that really doesn’t exist. Let me explain that I’ve been a councillor of Petts Wood Knoll since 1989.
“My partially sighted daughter went to that school, so I’ve seen it from a parent’s point of view and a ward councillor’s point of view and I’m not aware of any child accidents.”
Conservative Councillor Keith Onslow, also representing the Petts Wood and Knoll ward, said at the meeting: “Please let’s be patient. I live around the corner from this school so I see it just about every day… In some respects it’s an accident waiting to happen, we hope to goodness it never does, but let’s hope with some measures that we can prevent it.”
The council agreed at the meeting to note the petition and proceed with no further action.
Crofton School was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
