Schoolchildren forced to use dangerous stop

NOT ACCEPTABLE . . . Councillor Ken Hulme risks the traffic at the dangerous bus stop on the busy Denshaw A-road

A DANGEROUS bus stop where schoolchildren have to wait without a pavement should be moved, a Saddleworth parish councillor says.

The stop at the junction of Slackcote Lane, Denshaw Road and Tame Lane is used by children in the mornings, according to Councillor Ken Hulme.

And, as the mornings get darker, they are also waiting on an unlit stretch of road.

He has told the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive: “Because of the siting of the bus stop, school children and others are forced to stand in the road, there is no pavement or verge, to wait for buses.

“This is a fast A-road and, despite its proximity to the junction, cars travel in both directions at considerable speed.

“I am asking you to resite the bus stop to the other side of the junction where there is a verge and it would be possible to create a waiting space using flag stones — off the road — as has been done at other bus stops on this road.

“A bus shelter would of course be particularly welcome.

“There is a spare one in Diggle on the A670 on the corner of Spurn Lane which was erected some two years ago on the same week that the 184 bus route was diverted away from the A670 and on to the Huddersfield Road.

“The shelter is in excellent condition and comes equipped with lights which have still been switched on every night for the past two years despite the redundant nature of the bus stop. Not perhaps the best way to help the environment.

“I am sure you will share my concern to improve the safety of young people travelling on public transport.”