PARENTS OF CHILDREN attending a Moray primary school have gained the support of Moray Council in their battle to have safety features placed on the busy A96.
Youngsters attending East End Primary in Elgin have to regularly make their way to school alongside the busy road – and while Transport Scotland say they will consider placing a controlled crossing outside the school, parents say that is the least that should be done.
The chair of the school’s parent council, Louise Yaxley, said that while there is a school crossing attendant on duty a light-controlled crossing should be put in place. She added: “Our concerns are the safety of the children – it would be awful if it took an accident for action to be taken on this.”
The Transport Manager at Moray Council, Nicola Moss, agreed that there was clear concerns for children having to walk to school alongside the busy Aberdeen to Inverness trunk route.
She said the local authority had already approached Transport Scotland asking if improvements could be made but up until now these have been unsuccessful.
She added: “There is a school crossing patroller at East End but there are discussions with Transport Scotland about providing a controlled crossing in that area, and we continue to push them on that.”
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman confirmed that a review on providing a crossing at South College Street was under consideration, adding that it was expected to be completed by the end of this month when its finding would be discussed with Moray Council alongside other pedestrian and cycling issues in the area.
A local councillor has warned, however, that any extra crossings installed should not be at the expense of existing crossing patrol staff:
Councillor Patsy Gowans said: “I think if a crossing were installed outside East End there should still be a human presence there too, we would want both.”