Zebra campaign stunt calls for more safe crossings along busy road

You might expect to see a herd of zebras at a watering hole in Africa, rather than at the side of the road in South-east London, but these were zebras with a road safety message.

“We’re here to highlight how dangerous many roads are to cross, particularly for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities,” said Al Farrington, the chair of Croxted Road Residents Association (CRRA).

“Croxted Road is the route for 100s if not 1000s of children every morning on the school run. We have primary schools, nurseries and special schools nearby, as well as many secondary schools that children travel to independently. We need the roads to be safe for them. We need less traffic, less speeding and more zebra crossings.”

Amongst the zebras who ventured into the wild last Friday, was Ottie Palmer, aged eight, who goes to nearby Rosendale Primary School.

“I cross Croxted Road everyday to get to school. There is a lot of traffic which makes it really dangerous. Once I get near the school there is a School Street which makes it much nicer.”

According to data from campaign group Solve the School Run, Ottie is one of more than 1,500 children walking or cycling to a primary school in West Dulwich & Dulwich Village wards.

“They are lucky to have extensive School Streets, which make the areas immediately around the schools safer,” said Nicola Pastore, data lead from the organisation.

“But crossing between them is currently very dangerous. Children need safe routes to school. It really should be a fundamental right, but sadly we are in a situation where parents have to fight for it.“

According to Lambeth council’s Road Danger Reduction Strategy, nine out of ten people who are killed or seriously injured are ‘vulnerable’ road users, walking, cycling or riding motorbikes.

“We need more measures to ensure people outside cars are safe,” said Aimie Keeler, from Rosendale Clean Air, a residents’ group concerned about the roads in her area.

She said: “The light controlled pedestrian crossings near us on Croxted Road don’t give us enough time to cross safely. My son is in a wheelchair and a zebra crossing will give us the time we need.”

This week is Road Safety Awareness Week. Organised by charity Brake, they remind people that every year, 1,700 people die on our roads. 

A request for more crossings, safer roads by design and a School Street was made by Rosendale Clean Air Group in consultation with Croxted Road Residents Association earlier in the year.

Lambeth council responded by trialling the Rosendale / Turney School Street, which now enables thousands of children to get to school in a safe and much less stressful environment. It also agreed to implement crossings on Croxted Road, but as this is a project that needs to be done in conjunction with Southwark council and Transport for London, the time frame is longer.

“We understand the logistical problems co-ordinating these different authorities,” said Al Farrington, “but in the meantime, people are left navigating incredibly unsafe roads. We want something to be done, as we worry about the situation as it is.”

Croxted Road has just one zebra crossing between the Park Hall Road junction and Brockwell Park, a stretch over a mile long. More than 11,000 cars drive through the road each day and there were more than 25 collisions recorded by the CRRA in 2023. A police report put the road in the top 5 per cent of worst roads for speeding out of 150 London roads studied. 

“We need zebra crossings that go across Croxted Road, which are essential to connect one side of the road to the other. And we need side road zebras that make walking along these busy roads safe. They have the advantage of being cheaper than a traditional zebra crossing and make the prioritisation of the new highway code rules on junction priority really obvious to all. We would love the opportunity to trial them in Lambeth,” said Tom Palmer, Solve the School Run campaigner and local parent.

Pictured top: Children dressed as Zebras take to the street for road safety awareness week (Picture: Crispin Hughes)