Priti shows ECC dangerous road outside school
Priti Patel MP for Witham has returned to New Rickstones Academy alongside Cllr Mark Platt – Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport to see first hand the situation outside of the school gates at 3pm where students need to cross Conrad Road to start their journey home.
Priti showed Cllr Platt how busy the road gets with traffic and how unsafe the sole existing pedestrian crossing is for students, pedestrians and staff. With a number of schools in close proximity to each other on Conrad Road, at 3pm almost 2,000 pupils are starting their journeys home, with a significant number needing to cross Conrad Road.
Due to the sheer number of students exiting the school grounds, teachers from New Rickstones are having to act as traffic marshals to hold oncoming cars so that pupils can safely use the pedestrian crossing, a situation that is not sustainable and raises significant safety concerns.
Priti said: “I was delighted to return to New Rickstones Academy alongside educational leaders and Cllr Mark Platt from Essex County Council. I was pleased that Cllr Platt was able to see first-hand the road safety concerns shared by both myself and the schools on Conrad Road. I am pleased that ECC will be looking carefully at all options to resolve this issue, I know that road safety is a top priority for ECC as well as myself, teachers and parents.”
Cllr Platt said: “Many thanks to Priti for inviting me to see the traffic situation on Conrad Road outside New Rickstones Academy, particularly around school drop off and pick up time. It was helpful for me to see first-hand the issues posed to pupils, parents and staff when leaving at the end of the school day.
Conrad Road is an education corridor and road safety around schools is a priority for Essex County Council. ECC highway officers will be looking at solutions to alleviate the situation, protect pupils and ease the burden on staff at the schools. During the meeting with school leaders and Priti we discussed both short and longer term measures that might assist here. We will keep Priti and the schools updated of our progress as road safety is of vital importance.”