Brent kids 'too scared' to cycle or walk over 'intimidating' junction so parents drive to school
| Published date | 09 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
Speaking at a recent Brent Council Cabinet meeting April 8, Project Manager at St. Gregory's Catholic Science College and secretary to Kenton area Traders Association, Gail Hovey, told councillors that the crossing near the school is 'unsafe' and some of the younger pupils find it difficult to get across to the other side.
Reading an extract from a letter she says was sent to MP for Brent North Barry Gardiner by the school's year 11 pupils, Ms Hovey said: "It is a crossroads that has cars coming from every direction. To cross, you have to catch the brief pause before the traffic lights turn green. This is incredibly difficult, particularly for pupils in the lower years who are repeatedly subjected to the dreaded wrath of a driver's horn."
Pupils at St. Gregory's are actively involved in the Transport for London TfL Travel for Life scheme -a free accreditation programme that offers free educational programmes to schools across London to increase active travel -and is on course to achieve gold accreditation by the end of the academic year. However, a survey conducted on pupils at the school found that just under half 43 per cent of Year 11 pupils didn't feel fully confident in crossing the road.
Ms Hovey cites 15 incidents happening at the junction involving both pedestrians and cyclists, in the five years to January 2023. They comprise 11 collisions, three of which were pedestrians being hit by traffic and two which resulted in serious injury, and a further three incidents involved cyclists being struck by vehicles.
Ms Hovey said: "Another traffic incident resulted in a section of the pedestrian barrier being completely destroyed, [as well as] an incident that is not included in these figures as it happened very recently. This resulted in the only section of the pelican crossing currently in place at this junction being disabled by a car ploughing into the post on which it is attached."
Kenton Road has two lanes of traffic in either direction but only one section of this stretch currently has a pelican crossing; it also is used by four different bus routes. Traffic filters into one particular section of the road...
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