CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a 20mph zone to be brought in outside a local primary school to alleviate years-old issues with congestion and speeding.
Chronic traffic problems in Cawthorne have been flagged up in meetings numerous times over the years with Taylor Hill, where the village’s school is situated, being a particular cause of concern.
A meeting was held at Cawthorne Primary on Tuesday, where Coun John Walker, a member of Cawthorne Parish Council, Kerry Birks, a public health officer from Barnsley Council, and two PCSOs were in attendance, sharing ways they could improve the safety for the school children and their families, particularly during drop-off and pick-up times.
The meeting was told the school is one of just a few in Barnsley to not have a 20mph limit outside its gates - and leaders have called for this to change.
Coun Walker told the Chronicle: “Many schools across the country all have 20mph speed zones - there is absolutely no reason why Cawthorne shouldn’t have one put in place.
“Not even just Cawthorne, but the other schools in Barnsley who are experiencing the same issues with speeding cars and congestion on the roads - primary schools particularly.
“I’ve seen for myself the amount of cars who will purposely speed up to get around the parked vehicle, so they don’t have to slow down and wait for the car coming in the opposite direction.
“It really is dangerous, and obviously our school is directly on the main road.”
Headteacher Adam Bramall said the talks were very positive and now believes progress will be made with the help of local governors, parents and the relevant authorities.
“It’s Barnsley Council’s highways department who have the right to change and alter speed limits and restrictions, but I am definitely positive that changes can be made with the right support,” he added.
“We will also be implementing the Green Cross Code posters around the school going forward and doing everything we possibly can to ensure all our pupils feel safe when they come in and out of the school.
“The year sixes also have a trip to Crucial Crew - a safety awareness course - coming up which will widen their knowledge surrounding road safety and the importance of awareness when crossing busy main roads.”
Two pupils, Sophie Sykes from year six and year four’s Izzy Quigley, came up with the idea of creating road safety posters as part of a project set to them by their teaching assistant, Bryony Lindley, who told them to identify a problem and then present a solution.
Their work then inspired an assembly, where Anthony Holmes and Catherine McFadzean, from South Yorkshire Police, gave two presentations about the importance of road safety.
Coun James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, said: “We’re working in partnership with South Yorkshire Police to deliver road safety awareness training at schools across the borough, including Cawthorne Primary.
“We want children to feel safe on their journey to and from school, so we’ve been delivering assemblies along with PCSOs to teach children about the importance of road safety.
“We’ll also be rolling out a suite of resources from September using games and activities to convey our road safety messages.
“Outside of the learning environment, we’re committed to making our roads safer.
“Our parking services will take action against vehicles that are not following parking restrictions, and we’ll continue to work with South Yorkshire Police who can enforce speed limits on the road.”
