Steps are being taken to replace a vital pedestrian crossing in Ellon following fears for the safety of children walking to school.
Construction work to build around 40 affordable houses near the former Ellon Academy has resulted in the permanent pedestrian crossing once there being replaced by a temporary one.
During the initial consultation stage with the Formartine Area Committee it was told the crossing would be removed as part of the development.
Parents have since raised concerns over the prospect that the safety feature on Golf Road could be gone for good and not replaced.
Crossing will be permanently replaced
But council officials have now confirmed parents’ fears should be allayed and insisted it will be permanently replaced.
Local resident Michelle Walker uses the crossing every day to walk her son to and from school and said any removal would be “ridiculous” and added: “How are the kids supposed to get across the road?”
She continued: “My son is at the stage where he is thinking about his independence, walking to school himself and it’s just not possible.
“The cars drive so fast along that road so there is absolutely no way. It’s not safe at all.”
She said the temporary crossing is “fine and does its job” but added a permanent replacement was necessary as “hundreds of kids use it, there’s no common sense there at all”.
New dropped-kerbs had been proposed to be installed along Golf Road and Schoolhill in the crossing’s place.
Confusion circulating around crossing
And now all four Ellon and District councillors have met with council officers and police at the temporary crossing on Tuesday, January 25 to discuss the issue.
Committee chairwoman, councillor Isobel Davidson, said: “I think there is a lot of confusion about what the proposals are. The proposals are to have a crossing and we all agree that it has to be a lit crossing.
“A lot of people think that the plan is to take the crossing away altogether but we want a crossing, we’re just having a debate with officers about where it should be and what type of crossing it should be.”
A ‘formal review’ of crossing will take place
She added: “The Formartine Area Committee agreed when planning permission for the new housing development was granted that the crossing needed to be replaced rather than removed.
“Since then, we have agreed with council officers that a temporary crossing needed to be in place while works are being carried out which required the pavement to be closed, this is in place.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: “We will be conducting a formal review of the crossing facilities on Golf Road over the next few months, and until such time the temporary crossing will remain in place.
“The provision of any permanent crossing facility will be in line with the relevant policy and procedure.”