Both parents and local residents have for years been asking for help to make this road a safer place to use on foot and by car. However the assistance given in the past has never been enough and this road continues to be overly busy and dangerous at various times in the day particularly during rush hour and school drop off/pick up times. We have had assessments, traffic wardens and PCSO patrols but all only do something at the time and behaviour reverts once they are over. And our calls for a crossing patrol service has been turned down on the basis of the fact that there has been no fatality!

This situation has been made far worse currently due to the planned works at St Margarets School (closing Merry Hill Road) and the School Lane being dug up today (3nd Dec) just below Ashfield School. Not only adding to the pressure on the road but also to the traffic with the large trucks that are using the road several times a day. In the last 2 weeks alone to my knowledge there have been 3 cars badly hit and numerous near misses between cars, and people and cars.

Today's crash was one of the worst I have witnessed in the many years my children have attended the schools and could so easily have been so much worse. Regardless of fault the crash resulted in one person losing a fair proportion of the front of their car on a junction of the road where numerous children and adults cross. Today it could so easily have been more than a car gone!

In addition to this the bad driving/parking, lack of co-operation between drivers and drivers even driving on to the pavement is resulting in a dreadful relationship between parents and local residents and will sadly in the end result in not just near misses and bumped/battered cars but in serious injury and maybe worse. And I for one cannot ignore this any more. So I have decided that the only way to finally get something done is if we all come together and ask for help. In the past blame has been put on parents of all schools in the area by other parents and residents, and parents have blamed residents, but this is not helpful. We are all at times at fault in what is a very difficult road to navigate at busy times. The only solution is to stop the blaming, come together and get the correct help from our local council and stop this before something truly tragic happens. So I am asking you all to please show your support for the need for action by our local council and police to make this road a safe place for us all to use.

Please sign to show your support, then share it with everyone you know who is affected or could be affected by it. We need action and without support it will not be heard