A desperate Banchory mum has revealed children have been left “terrified” of getting to school since the council axed lollipop men and women.
Worried parents have issued pleas for something to be done, with concerns pupils at Banchory Primary are “playing jeopardy” with their lives.
They want to see action taken on the narrow Arbeadie Road after the local authority axed all of its school crossing posts to save cash last year.
They claim their children are “terrified” to cross the busy street themselves.
Appeal for Banchory school crossing first made seven years ago
Councillors Eileen Durno and Ann Ross raised the issue at a recent meeting, saying these concerns had persisted for years – but were made worse by the lollipop chop.
The two patrollers previously recruited were axed last summer.
‘We need a safe crossing for the children’
Following the unpopular decision, Ann Ross started calling for a crossing to be created instead.
She said children have been “playing jeopardy” crossing the road, despite the addition of a brightly coloured warning poster plastered across the school fence.
“The primary thing here is the children…we want to encourage them to walk to school,” she argued.
“Whilst it’s the parents’ responsibility, we’ve lost the crossing patrollers but we need a safe crossing for the children.”
She also thanked the school’s former lollipop man Alan Carnegie “who was out there in all weathers helping children and parents cross the road”.
Mum says pupils are ‘terrified’ to cross busy road
Meanwhile parent council chairwoman, Zoe Mason-Reid, said children are left feeling “terrified” as they try to cross the road on their own.
She added: “Unlike Banchory Academy and Hill of Banchory school we do not have a zebra crossing, yet we operate a priority bus route, are adjacent to the vaccination centre, nursery, academy and the Forget Me Not charity.
“It goes without saying that the safety of our children within the school grounds is paramount.”
The mum said while there are various signs in place to get motorists to slow down, she believes many don’t stick to the 20mph limit.
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Banchory crossing confirmed
Officers confirmed that the roads service has agreed to create the crossing and it will be launched later this year – subject to budget talks next month.
Infrastructure chief Martin Hall revealed that while there was no exact timescale, he believed the design work could be done by April with the crossing installed by October.
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