Deaf Academy students campaign for puffin crossing

Amy and Timothy are part of the campaign for a new puffin crossing

Students and teachers at the Deaf Academy in east Devon are aiming to raise £30,000 to help pay for a puffin crossing.

The students have campaigned for several years for a pedestrian crossing on Douglas Avenue, a busy stretch of road outside the academy gates, ever since it relocated to Exmouth from Exeter in 2020.

Devon County Council’s Highways and Traffic Committee has agreed it can go ahead at a cost a £100,000 but has asked the academy, which is run by a registered charity, to contribute £30,000 towards it.

The school has now launched a fundraising campaign in the hope of getting the money.

Mark Stocks from the Deaf Academy said the crossing was necessary for the safety of students and staff

It said every pound raised through the campaign would be matched by the academy trust.

Amy, vice chair of the student council at the academy said: “It is really difficult because it is really busy, and it’s just very hard to cross safely.”

Chair of the student council, Timothy, added: “Some of the students are profoundly deaf, and some of the staff are as well.

"There are cars coming back and forth.

"People are going to work, going to different places. It is hard.”

'Hard to cross'

Puffin crossings include added visual and audio signals, along with pressure sensors in the road surface, to allow people time to cross.

There would be advanced warning signing on both approaches and high friction road surfacing.

In addition, it will have visual, tactile, and audible pedestrian indicators to help users cross safely.

Partnership and community manager at the Academy, Mark Stocks said: “As a deaf adult myself and with my hearing dog, North, we find it really hard to cross this road.

"It can be quite busy. You’ve got a blind corner when traffic will ignore the 20 miles an hour speed limit and approach with considerable speed and given that some of our students are registered as being both deaf and blind it’s just having that safety precaution in place to keep them safe.”

It is hoped work will begin on the crossing in the autumn.