The council has formally withdrawn the inadequate road safety proposals in response to our collective efforts. This outcome ensures that the safety concerns of our community are prioritized appropriately. We will continue to monitor the subsequent planning stages to guarantee that the final improvements meet the necessary standards for our …
March 30, 2020
Final supporters
FAO Councillor Martin Whelton
We, the undersigned, believe that the current proposals put forward by Merton Council are not adequate to improve road safety for the children who attend Park Community school.
The children at Park Community School are starting at point of having a very difficult road to cross. They are then being offered much less by Merton Council to improve this in comparison with other schools in the borough.
We ask that these existing proposals are not approved until they are significantly improved.
Further information:
What is wrong with the current proposals
- The first traffic calming measures for cars driving off the main A24 road would now be the speed table that the children are supposed to be stepping out on to.
- The width of the road will still be almost 7m which is unacceptable, particularly in comparison to other schools (see below).
- Children/families will still have to judge both lanes of the road with their very different conditions (stationary vehicles in one lane and fast free flowing in the other) at the same time in order to cross safely.
- Since the speed table will not really assist with crossing we do not believe it will be widely used and therefore there will be no protection in numbers of a central crossing point.
- The absence of traffic islands will still allow cars to overtake on the wrong side of the road to access the junction with the A24 with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Concerns regarding the engagement of Merton Council that have led to them making the current proposal for a simple speed table
- Since August 2018 we have photographic evidence of three collisions on Dorset Road immediately outside school. In addition to this on 10th February 2020 school parents witnessed a pedestrian being knocked over by a car just prior to school pick up time. This road is unpredictable. The council have informed us they do not give any weight to events like these when forming a proposal unless someone is injured or killed.
- Within the space of 8 months from beginning to end, Merton Council installed a speed table with central traffic islands and a pedestrian refuge on Dorset Road (close to the junction with Sheridan Road). This was done partly for the benefit of secondary school children to cross the road from the tram stop. We have been refused a similar scheme and the council have not given us valid reasons for doing so.
- At Wimbledon Chase, Joseph Hood, Dundonald, Pelham and Garfield primary schools the initial width of the road the school is located on is less than Dorset Road, with less traffic and less challenging conditions. In every case the road has been narrowed by more than the 1m proposed for our school. Hatfield and Priory primary schools have been granted a speed table with traffic islands and central refuge.
Updates
February 25, 2020
The petition has now surpassed two hundred and fifty signatures. This level of engagement confirms that our community expects more robust safety measures for the students at Park Community School. I am currently preparing to present this data to the council to ensure our concerns are formally acknowledged.
Reached 250 supporters
February 24, 2020
Reached 100 supporters
February 13, 2020
140 Comments
Every morning when i need to cross Dorset Rd with three kids and only two hands - it is so scary and accident is just about to happen soon! I cant understand why our kids are not important to the council? We need a zebra crossing and there is no reason for not having it! ☹️
The whole length of Dorset Road is a rat run with cars and vans regularly speeding/overtaking on the wrong side of the road. With so many children crossing, particularly at Merton Park tram stop, it is an accident waiting to happen.
As a parent who also has an 8 month old, trying to cross the road holding a baby and the hand of my 6 year old, whilst trying to look in both directions for cars (some of which are speeding), having a crossing would make this not only easier, but much much safer for ALL children and their parents
My little brother attends this school and it's incredibly dangerous for him when crossing the road, he's 7. He's not able yet to make a proper judgement call about the speed of cars or traffic, yes he obviously crosses with an adult but proper safety measures should be put in place for the children.
The combination of increasing pupil numbers and two adjacent busy junctions with Morden Road and Daybrook Road into Dorset Road make walking our children to/from school increasingly difficult. Please consider proper crossing options before any more accidents occur near our school
It's not acceptable to have small children at risk. How difficult cannot be to put in a crossing.
Merton Council: the proposal does not address the problems we have repeatedly told you about over the last three years. It does not make the road safer for our children and vulnerable users for the reasons set out in the petition. It is therefore a poor use of public money - and, if your proposal goes ahead, more money will need to be spent very soon to make revisions to it. You say in the proposal and elsewhere that footfall is too low for a zebra crossing and that one cannot be installed here for technical reasons. Neither of these points is correct as we have shown in our correspondence. You say that a central refuge cannot be installed here. Yet you swiftly installed one at Sheridan Road even though the technical issues are more problematic there (crossovers and trees). We have shown that it is perfectly possible to install a central refuge outside Park Community School - yet you have not responded to our proposals for this. Further details are in my full response to the consultation.
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The council has formally withdrawn the inadequate road safety proposals in response to our collective efforts. This outcome ensures that the safety concerns of our community are prioritized appropriately. We will continue to monitor the subsequent planning stages to guarantee that the final improvements meet the necessary standards for our …
March 30, 2020
Final supporters
FAO Councillor Martin Whelton
We, the undersigned, believe that the current proposals put forward by Merton Council are not adequate to improve road safety for the children who attend Park Community school.
The children at Park Community School are starting at point of having a very difficult road to cross. They are then being offered much less by Merton Council to improve this in comparison with other schools in the borough.
We ask that these existing proposals are not approved until they are significantly improved.
Further information:
What is wrong with the current proposals
- The first traffic calming measures for cars driving off the main A24 road would now be the speed table that the children are supposed to be stepping out on to.
- The width of the road will still be almost 7m which is unacceptable, particularly in comparison to other schools (see below).
- Children/families will still have to judge both lanes of the road with their very different conditions (stationary vehicles in one lane and fast free flowing in the other) at the same time in order to cross safely.
- Since the speed table will not really assist with crossing we do not believe it will be widely used and therefore there will be no protection in numbers of a central crossing point.
- The absence of traffic islands will still allow cars to overtake on the wrong side of the road to access the junction with the A24 with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Concerns regarding the engagement of Merton Council that have led to them making the current proposal for a simple speed table
- Since August 2018 we have photographic evidence of three collisions on Dorset Road immediately outside school. In addition to this on 10th February 2020 school parents witnessed a pedestrian being knocked over by a car just prior to school pick up time. This road is unpredictable. The council have informed us they do not give any weight to events like these when forming a proposal unless someone is injured or killed.
- Within the space of 8 months from beginning to end, Merton Council installed a speed table with central traffic islands and a pedestrian refuge on Dorset Road (close to the junction with Sheridan Road). This was done partly for the benefit of secondary school children to cross the road from the tram stop. We have been refused a similar scheme and the council have not given us valid reasons for doing so.
- At Wimbledon Chase, Joseph Hood, Dundonald, Pelham and Garfield primary schools the initial width of the road the school is located on is less than Dorset Road, with less traffic and less challenging conditions. In every case the road has been narrowed by more than the 1m proposed for our school. Hatfield and Priory primary schools have been granted a speed table with traffic islands and central refuge.
Updates
February 25, 2020
The petition has now surpassed two hundred and fifty signatures. This level of engagement confirms that our community expects more robust safety measures for the students at Park Community School. I am currently preparing to present this data to the council to ensure our concerns are formally acknowledged.
Reached 250 supporters
February 24, 2020
Reached 100 supporters
February 13, 2020
140 Comments
We often travel down Dorset Road and regularly see cars speeding by the school. On more than one occasion drivers in a hurry have made unsafe manoeuvres just by the school and the junction with the A24.
Every morning when i need to cross Dorset Rd with three kids and only two hands - it is so scary and accident is just about to happen soon! I cant understand why our kids are not important to the council? We need a zebra crossing and there is no reason for not having it! ☹️
The whole length of Dorset Road is a rat run with cars and vans regularly speeding/overtaking on the wrong side of the road. With so many children crossing, particularly at Merton Park tram stop, it is an accident waiting to happen.
As a parent who also has an 8 month old, trying to cross the road holding a baby and the hand of my 6 year old, whilst trying to look in both directions for cars (some of which are speeding), having a crossing would make this not only easier, but much much safer for ALL children and their parents
My little brother attends this school and it's incredibly dangerous for him when crossing the road, he's 7. He's not able yet to make a proper judgement call about the speed of cars or traffic, yes he obviously crosses with an adult but proper safety measures should be put in place for the children.
The combination of increasing pupil numbers and two adjacent busy junctions with Morden Road and Daybrook Road into Dorset Road make walking our children to/from school increasingly difficult. Please consider proper crossing options before any more accidents occur near our school
It's not acceptable to have small children at risk. How difficult cannot be to put in a crossing.
Merton Council: the proposal does not address the problems we have repeatedly told you about over the last three years. It does not make the road safer for our children and vulnerable users for the reasons set out in the petition. It is therefore a poor use of public money - and, if your proposal goes ahead, more money will need to be spent very soon to make revisions to it. You say in the proposal and elsewhere that footfall is too low for a zebra crossing and that one cannot be installed here for technical reasons. Neither of these points is correct as we have shown in our correspondence. You say that a central refuge cannot be installed here. Yet you swiftly installed one at Sheridan Road even though the technical issues are more problematic there (crossovers and trees). We have shown that it is perfectly possible to install a central refuge outside Park Community School - yet you have not responded to our proposals for this. Further details are in my full response to the consultation.
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We often travel down Dorset Road and regularly see cars speeding by the school. On more than one occasion drivers in a hurry have made unsafe manoeuvres just by the school and the junction with the A24.