Crossing is a dice with death

DANGEROUS crossing . . . from left, Andrea Cottrill from Dorothy May Nursery School, Sarah Watson and Dorothy Hare with children Paul Watson and Donna Watson at Lydgate crossroads

Frustrated residents are piling pressure on Oldham Council for a crossing to be installed on a 40mph main road.

Residents and parents of children attending a primary school and two nurseries close to Oldham Road in Lydgate have sent a petition and a stream of letters to the council appealing for a pelican or zebra crossing on the blind bend.

The bend, on Oldham Road — on a crossroads with Platting Road and Stockport Road — has an island crossing already. But the road’s 40mph speed limit, which parents say drivers already exceed, means locals refuse to use it in fear of being knocked down.

Sarah Watson, who has lived in Oldham Road for eight years and has two children at nearby St Anne’s Primary School, is leading the protest.

She said: “We have never had a safe crossing area for the local school and nursery. It can take me 15 minutes to cross here, which is wrong in such a built-up area.

“I’ve got an eight and a nine year old, and the eldest has special needs. Trying to get her across the road can be an absolute nightmare. There are three roads coming into one and because of the bend drivers don’t see you coming. They’re always going faster than 40mph.

“We desperately need a zebra or pelican crossing, something which actively stops the traffic, and for the speed limit to be reduced to 30mph. The council are not taking into consideration all the different people who need it.”

The council has acknowledged receipt of the petition and will investigate the request.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, cabinet member for transport said: “We’re committed to encouraging parents and children to walk to school and we take these concerns and requests seriously. We’ll look at this stretch of road closely and then report our findings.”