Mum urges crossing improvements over safety fears

Parents have expressed concerns over a number of near misses at the crossing

A mother has called for action to improve safety at a road crossing following a number of near misses with cars.

Vicki Fox is petitioning for lights and signs to be installed at Beckfield Lane's zebra crossing in Acomb, York, where she said cars either stop abruptly or fail to stop due to poor visibility.

She wants a push button pelican crossing to replace the current zebra crossing, saying it was longer fit for purpose, with visibility hampered by trees and a lack of routine maintenance on its markings.

City of York Council said the request would be considered in line with a new process for dealing with changes to pedestrian crossings.

Mrs Fox said she noticed problems with the crossing when she started taking her two children to school last year.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service : "At first I thought it was just me, but I chatted to other parents and they said they'd had issues there too so I thought something needed to be done about it, it's unsafe.

"In February I saw a car slam on the brakes at the crossing and the one behind went into the back of them, I contacted the council to report the accident."

Mrs Fox's online petition has attracted more than 400 signatures and, alongside a 700-signature paper petition, was presented to the council's full meeting in late July by the opposition Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Stephen Fenton.

The council said officers had visited the site to see what improvements could be made

Fenton said council workers had visited the crossing and repainted the markings after the concerns were reported.

"There are growing concerns that motorists are not stopping for pedestrians," he said.

"The proximity of some large trees does not help with visibility, but it won't be possible to do any significant tree pruning work until the autumn after nesting season."

Katie Lomas, who represents the Acomb ward and is a member of the ruling Labour group, said council officers had visited to see what changes could be made.

"The next step is for the highways safety team to assess the crossing and nearby junctions and recommend what measures can be implemented to improve safety."

Dave Atkinson, the council's environmental and regulatory lead, said officials were considering the petition.

The council adopted a new methodology in June for assessing requests for crossings, in part to clear a backlog that has mounted in recent years.

The policy gives greater priority to need and future use and to address existing casualty issues and users' perceptions of danger.

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