Slow down before it’s too late (From This is Hampshire)

Slow down before it’s too late

10:20am Monday 13th February 2012 in Romsey

ACT before a child is killed on this road.

That’s the plea from young mums calling on highway chiefs to lower the speed limit on a busy road near Romsey.

Parents of children at the two Cupernham schools, led by Ria Skelton, have launched a campaign to get the 40mph restriction on Braishfield Road at Woodley reduced to 30mph.

Around 20 parents and children staged a roadside protest on Monday at the junction of Woodley Road and School Road.

Protesters held up and waved homemade 30mph signage at passing motorists in a bid to get their message across.

Ria said: “Drivers sped past us. We need something done about the speed limit urgently, or are authorities going to wait until someone is badly injured or killed crossing this road? We have to get the momentum going now, so something is done about it – and soon.”

The mum, who has a six-year-old daughter, Rosie, who she walks to Cupernham Infants School, says the busy Braishfield Road will become even more difficult to cross once the nearby 800-home Abbotswood village is built.

“Quite a few people are concerned about speed along this road. I’ve lived in the area for 18 months and the amount of traffic using Braishfield Road has got worse, making it difficult to cross, especially if you have more than one child with you,” added Ria.

She says that many parents at Woodley who live to the east of Braishfield Road don’t walk their children to school because they they think it’s it too dangerous.

Ria is urging people to write to Hampshire’s deputy leader, Roy Perry, whose division includes Woodley, to ask for a 30mph limit.

Childminder, Karen James, says people take their life in their hands trying to cross Braishfield Road and she drives her clients’ children to school rather than attempt to cross it.

“As a childminder and local resident getting across the road is nigh impossible. So many drivers speed along it, it’s not safe to cross. I am amazed no-one has been killed,” said Karen, who also refuses to let her own nine-year-old son, Morgan, cross Braishfield Road to get to school in Cupernham.

Mr Perry confirmed that he supports the campaign. “I have been pressing for a long time for a lower speed limit on this road because I am very conscious of the need for children from Woodley and Hunters Crescent to cross that road to get to Cupernham School.”

He added that the county council has plans to install crossing points along the road and lower the existing speed limit.

However, the improvements are linked to the Abbotswood development and probably won’t be put in place for a while.

“I will be urging HCC Highways that those road safety proposals are implemented as soon as possible but I am conscious that we regularly face either objections or lack of support from Hampshire Constabulary when we propose lower speed limits,” said Mr Perry who concluded: “One advantage of a 30mph limit would be that we could adopt the community enforcement scheme allowing local people to help enforce the limit.”