I've never done anything like this before and thought it was time to get a campaign going to get a road crossing at the very busy crossing area on Pendleton Road midway between The Pendleton Pub and Abinger Drive in Redhill, Surrey.

Throughout the day this is a highly used section of the road for pedestrians to cross as the pavement peters out on one side of the road. It is heavily used by both parents & children that attend St. John's Primary School, the teenage pupils of Reigate School & residents of the St. John's, Meadvale & Woodhatch areas of Redhill; in addition, this road crossing also on residents of Earlswood whose children also attend Reigate School. If this road crossing does not yet affect you, it may well do at some point in the future.

Several years ago the council decided that they would indeed install a pedestrian crossing here but then was thrown out as there was not enough funding.

This is a very busy road, with a high density of car usage and Britannia Crest lorry usage. I have on many occasions witnessed drivers speeding on this 30mph section of the road & driving very carelessly. I have also witnessed teenage boys behaving like teenage boys and taking unnecessary risks crossing the road in an effort to impress their peers or for whatever reason it may be.

In the mornings, when I take my two daughters to school to St. John's Primary School, there can sometimes be in excess of 5 families waiting to cross the road so can be heavily clustered on the pavement. It would not take much for a child/adult to stumble and accidently push someone into the road.

Throughout the day, this is a very heavily used crossing for dog-walkers and other pedestrians coming from different directions.

Occasionally a car driver will stop so that we can cross the road, however, this in turn could be dangerous for car drivers who are not anticipating any stoppages mid-road with no warning of a crossing?

The only two crossings on this top section of the road are just outside St. John's Church and just before Reigate School (however with no pavement down the left hand side of the road, it becomes necessary for those joining the road between those two crossings to cross over to the right-hand side of the road).

It is a dangerous & frightening road & I feel that it is unreasonable for residents to be fearful of a road that we all must use & cross with such regularity with no traffic calming or pedestrian lights in place.

My question is this:

Does it take a death to make it happen?!

Should we not show our children & future generations that we are proactive in preventing these fatalities/injuries, rather than demonstrating a total complacency where there is a clear safety issues.

I am a resident of Abinger Drive, Redhill. I am a mother of two girls and my motivation for creating this petition is to attempt to keep all our local children & residents safe from a road accident or fatality. And free from unnecessary fears & anxieties for matters which can be solved. My eldest daughter is due to start secondary school in September 2015 & I am not comfortable at all with her having to cross that road alone yet feel that she ought to be able to have a little independence.

We, the undersigned, petition to provide a Traffic Light Pedestrian Crossing for Pendleton Road, Redhill, Surrey, to ensure safety of parents, children, teenagers and all residents, whilst crossing the road to attend two separate schools & other areas within the local community.