Cold Ash rejects plans for speed hump

Controversial traffic-calming measure outside St Mark’s School voted out

PLANS for a speed hump outside St Mark’s School in Cold Ash... have fallen by the road side.

The 50mm-high hump was proposed as an informal crossing point, where vehicles would have to slow down. Government legislation also means that street lighting would have had to be provided.

Residents opposing the scheme showed their discontent at a consultation event last month, questioning whether it would actually solve the problem of speeding during school runs.

Calls for a zebra crossing were made despite council officers saying that the village did not qualify for one.

Parish councillors met to determine whether to press ahead with the hump last Tuesday.

Resident John Rance said that, while he didn’t have an axe to grind, the plan had been badly thought out as it had not considered the impact on parking near the school. “We don’t have a consensus in the community or the parish council. Shelve this plan and consider it another time.”

Speaking in support of the scheme, one parent said that, while the bump was not an ideal solution, it was a good start towards fixing the issue.

He added that considering other options would cause delays during which an accident could happen.

Parish council chairman Richard Marsh asked for people to set their concerns aside in order to protect village children. He said: “We should grasp this proposal while we can or leave our children at the mercy of traffic.

“It seems odd to me that people who oppose street lighting would support lights for a crossing, Should we allow lighting to outweigh the safety of our children?”

But Gill Hall accused Mr Marsh of using children’s safety to blackmail councillors into making the wrong decision.

She said: “It makes my blood run cold. A child will think it has the right of way and will step out and be flattened.

“We need to look at it more seriously and find something that works and find the money. It’s not the right solution. You will have a child walk across that thing and be killed.”

Saying that the parish council had been presented with a fait accompli, Linda Verner said that a proper consultation of all the options should be presented.

Dorothy Le-Cornu suggested that the school or parishioners should be asked about creating voluntary lollipop duty.

A vote to press on with the hump was defeated by Mrs Verner, Marigold Jaques, Mrs Le-Cornu and Mrs Hall. Mr Marsh, Bernard Clark and Mike Munro were in favour.

The parish council resolved to continue investigating road safety concerns outside the school with the help of the district council.

Mr Munro did not vote saying “as a collective we keep failing to do anything.”