Pupils at Ramsgate Holy Trinity Primary, which is in Broadstairs, have led a peaceful protest to draw attention to the need for a pelican or zebra crossing by the school.
The school council and volunteer pupils were joined by teachers, parents and road crossing officer Mrs Harris as well as guests, councillors Joanne and Kristian Bright, for the demo on Dumpton Park Drive on Friday (June 19).
The aim was to raise awareness of dangerous driving near the school and to call for a zebra or pelican crossing to improve safety for families and the Road Crossing Patrol officer.
The children created placards and banners and were wearing high-visibility jackets, and there was even a ‘zebra’ and a ‘pelican’ amongst the crowd.
The youngsters remained on the pavement under staff supervision throughout the event.
Teacher and school council lead Julie Marshall said: “We have got 210 pupils, aged five to 11, and safety is our absolute priority at the school.
“We are campaigning for a zebra or pelican crossing on Dumpton Park Drive. We have been very passionate as a school to raise awareness of this and we really believe in our pupils having a voice.
“It was led by the school council and there were children from every age group.
“They value making a difference and took part in a whole school assembly for road safety which they ran themselves and they said ‘can we have a peaceful protest?’
“This campaign supports our lollypop lady. She is invaluable and we don’t want to lose her as she is doing an amazing job and we still need her.
“The reason why we need a safer crossing is because in extreme weathers, especially in the dark, winter mornings our current crossing isn’t visible enough and cars can exceed the speed limit whilst she has to walk out into the middle of the road without her lollipop.
“We are passionate about our whole community and wanted to make a stand for everyone.
“We were joined by the senior leadership team who are naturally very supportive of the children and we have done a travel plan and our headteacher Erin was leading the chanting.
“We also had wonderful councillors Joanne Bright and Kristian Bright to support us and support from the Dumpton traffic group.”
Ms Marshall said an approach has been made to Kent County Council although is ‘very early days.’
The event was recorded to show East Thanet MP, Polly Billington, who is visiting the school later this year.
Cllr Joanne Bright said: “I was really impressed by the children’s very well-organised demonstration. They really managed to get the message across that children deserve to be safe while crossing the road, especially outside their school.
“All the encouraging beeps from passing motorists, show that this is something that other people feel strongly about too.
“Dumpton Park Drive is a very long, wide road which makes it easy to speed along. Even though the speed limit is 30mph, cars often drive faster than that and this has led to fatal accidents.
“Recently, road safety measures have been put in place to try to reduce the speed and to encourage drivers to take more care. These include a regular Community Speedwatch group who monitor the speed of cars, and also the installation of two new solar-powered flashing signs which warn drivers when they are travelling too fast.
“However, the children’s campaign has shown me that there is still much more that needs to be done to ensure Dumpton Park Drive is safer for pedestrians, especially for school children who have a right to feel safe on their journey to and from school.
“I agree that a crossing outside the school is urgently needed and I will be contacting the Kent Highways Team to seek advice about next steps.”
Cllr Kristian Bright added: “It was amazing seeing (the children) all marching up and down with their placards.
“It is clear that traffic moves very quickly on that road and we want our children who are walking to school to feel safe.”
As cabinet member for parking Cllr K Bright said he would look at what could be done in that area to make things safer and, from a town council perspective, it could be included in the Broadstairs travel plan.
MP Polly Billington said: “I’m really concerned about road safety on Dumpton Park Drive after hearing from Holy Trinity School about near miss accidents involving students.
“Since I was elected, I have supported a number of campaigns for improved safety and traffic calming measures to be installed along this stretch, so I am proud to be backing this campaign for the installation of a pelican crossing so we can keep children safe.”
Hopefully, they will have success. A good learning experience regarding standing up for themselves.
“she has to walk out into the middle of the road without her lollipop” Perhaps a pelican or zebra crossing would be a good idea, because without her lollipop, the School Crossing Patrol has no power to stop traffic.