Peterborough children can get to school more easily due to safety improvements

Peterborough City Council’s Safer Journeys to School scheme was set up to enable young people to make journeys in a safe and active way and three projects carried out as part of the initiative have recently been completed.

Work to install a controlled puffin crossing and upgrade an adjacent bus shelter in Thorpe Road was completed earlier this month.

The crossing will help ensure that pupils at The Peterborough School can cross the road safely and get to and from school more easily.

The work took five weeks to complete and also saw a section of the carriageway re-surfaced.

Steve Dharamraj, bursar at The Peterborough School, said: “The safety of our pupils is our utmost priority and the crossing has made a positive difference.

“Not only can children cross a very busy road safely but the position of the crossing means traffic now slows down around the school entrance. We would like to thank Peterborough City Council’s highways team for an excellent job.”

Meanwhile, work to improve pedestrian safety in the Eastfield area has also been finished.

This has seen existing traffic signals in Padholme Road, Star Road and Saxon Road upgraded, two new controlled phased crossings installed, along with road resurfacing and a new bus shelter with associated road markings.

Earlier this year, work to improve safety for pedestrians in Fletton and Stanground was also completed.

This project saw the widening of footpaths between Fletton Cemetery and South Street carried out. Two new zebra crossings were installed in Fletton High Street and South Street along with other localised highway improvements.

The new wider footpaths and crossings have improved safety for pedestrians in the area, particularly school children, who need to cross Whittlesey Road near a busy double roundabout.

Cllr Lynne Ayres, Peterborough City Council’s cabinet member for education, said: “Through the Safer Journeys to School programme we are committed to enhancing highways, pavements and crossings so that children in Peterborough can get to and from the classroom more safely.”

Andy Tatt, head of Peterborough Highway Services, said: “These three projects all entail areas near schools with busy roads which can be difficult to cross at the best of times, so we’re confident they will make a positive difference.

“The completed improvements in Fletton and Stanground have helped to make that area of road brighter, smoother and easier to navigate for motorists and much safer for school children to cross.”