4,000 sign petition to make crossing schoolchildren use safer

By Kiro Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A road in Bromley has become so dangerous and clogged with traffic a headteacher said she wouldn’t even ask a lollipop man or woman to patrol it.

Road safety around the war memorial in Chislehurst, on the junction between Bromley Road, Bromley Lane, Royal Parade and Centre Common Road, has become a hot topic as locals demand safety improvements.

A petition signed by 4,000 people called on the council for safety measures.

But campaigners were warned there may be “no solution” to the issue.

The busy crossroads near the war memorial sees hundreds of schoolchildren cross every day.

The intersection is not far from Coopers Secondary School, St Nicolas Primary and Chislehurst School for Girls.

Traffic lights control the flow, but residents complained about rush-hour periods when cars turn unexpectedly down side roads, and uncertainty about when to cross without a puffin or pelican crossing.

This is further complicated when hundreds of children stream out of schools in vast numbers at the end of the day, sometimes racing across the road when they see a gap.

Sophie Sear, the headteacher for St Nicolas since 2018, said worries over safety had held back plans to employ a lollipop person.

She said: “I would not want anyone [there]. As you’re not just dealing with a volume of traffic, you’re dealing with the anger and frustration of the motorists.

“Where would you even put the lollipop person?

“It’s as simple as getting somewhere to cross that is actually managed.

“It does worry me as the most vulnerable are affected. Not only is their health affected in terms of emissions, my biggest concern is a mother with a toddler or a pushchair.

“We’re expected to promote walking to school and not driving to school, and yet I would say to [parents] ‘It’s just safer to drive.’”

Resident Sarah Gill-Schmitz, who presented the petition to a full council meeting last night, is pressing for immediate changes.

She said: “A lot of local residents despair at the thought there still isn’t a safe crossing here and many have given up on one ever being installed.

“However, our campaign group Safe Crossings for Chislehurst feel those who are most vulnerable, young children and those with mobility issues, deserve safe crossing. If the will is there, you can make it happen.”

Dad Andrew Cartwright, who cycles to St Nicolas with his three daughters, acknowledged the issue but called for a balanced approach.

“I used to cycle in Islington but cycling around Chislehurst and the Bromley area is much easier – but you still have to have your wits about you.

“And there are some pinch points where the traffic becomes quite intense and you’re forced to get off your bike.

“What we’re asking [the council] to do is get your team together and come up with options as there’s always pros and cons.

“I don’t believe in draconian rules that will be a nonsense to traffic so you’ve got to have a balanced view.”

Council Leader Colin Smith gave his response to the petition last night, where he outlined why there may be “no easy solutions” as any road changes would likely have a knock-on effect elsewhere in the borough.

He said: “If you push traffic away from that junction, people will rat run. They will not sit in traffic and I will put to anyone who studies these things that traffic flying through residential backstreets at a rate of knots is not a great place for anybody to be.

“I will respectfully say to the petitioners ‘if there was an easy solution to make road safety better, why wouldn’t we do it?’ It’s a no-brainer.”

The council said officers were in discussion with Transport for London to find workable solutions.

Pictured top: Sarah Gill-Schmitz, who is campaigning with other parents and residents to get safer road measures implemented at the controversial crossing (image: Sarah Gill-Schmitz)