'It is dangerous' Concerned parents call for crossing outside Moorings Way Infant School in Portsmouth
Parents call for crossing to be installed to keep children safe
Concerned parents of pupils at an infant school in Southsea are calling for the council to install a crossing to help keep children safe.
Parents of children at Moorings Way Infant School are worried that an accident could happen with an increase of traffic going past the school. With building work being carried out at the site of the old St James’ Hospital, heavy goods trucks and lorries have been passing though leading to children becoming “worried” and “intimidated” to cross the road.
It has been an ongoing issue, with Toni Harris raising a petition over the summer to request a crossing to introduced. It garnered over 300 signatures.
She said: “It is dangerous. We would like the council to prioritise that we need something here to make it safer for the children.”
Fellow parent Tamsin De La Haye is also concerned by the increased traffic outside the school. While her son has now moved on to Meon Way, they still walk along Moorings Way on their route to school.
Tamsin said: “There is a 20 miles per hour speed restriction on Moorings Way, however there is nothing to enforce that, there is no speed bumps, there is no crossing.
“There is a halfway crossing but that comes from the Green when all of the children come to school from the houses. There are large lorries coming past which intimidates the children, some of them are huge.”
While the building site will one day complete, concerns over traffic will remain with new houses set to increase the number of vehicles in the area.
Tamsin added: “It is not just an issue for the school. We just spoke to a local resident walking her dog and she said even she finds it worrying and dangerous with the trucks and amount of traffic coming through. It is a very big issue for the school and for parents of the children that come here but also for local residents.”
The issue has led some children to be scared to walk to school.
Six-year-old George said: “Sometimes there is giant vans and it always scares us. It is a bit dangerous.”
While seven-year-old Arthur said he was “worried” to cross the road, especially with no lollipop person on duty.
Portsmouth City Council have been approached for comment on the issue.