Road safety improvements to kick start school travel plan

10.35.57am GMT Fri 23rd Dec 2005

Road safety improvements are important

Cleckheaton Ward Councillors have welcomed plans to improve the roads outside of Whitcliffe Mount Specialist Business & Enterprise College, Cleckheaton, saying that the agreed works are set to have a "significant impact on road and pedestrian safety" in the area.

Cllr Ann Raistrick, Liberal Democrat, Cleckheaton Ward, has been working with Kirklees Council's Highways Service and Whitcliffe Mount Specialist Business & Enterprise College to bring about the improvements following complaints from local residents concerning road safety.

Cllr Raistrick says, "Over the last few years I and my fellow ward councillors have had many complaints about the amount of traffic on the roads outside of the College as well as about the speed at which some drivers choose to drive. As might be expected, the roads are busiest at the beginning and end of the school day. At these peak times, you also get a higher number of pedestrians in the area. With a situation like this, there is always going to be an increased safety risk. However, the works that have been agreed, when they are implemented, will help to significantly reduce that risk and ensure that the roads around the College are as safe as they possibly can be for drivers and pedestrians alike."

In addition to the planned road safety improvements, the Business & Enterprise College is currently looking at how it can develop an effective Travel Plan to further reduce the number of vehicles on the roads as peak times.

Cllr Raistrick went on to say, "We need to try to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads all across Kirklees, not just in Cleckheaton. This is not just about road safety, it is also about the environment and people's health. We need to reduce the amount of unnecessary journeys people make by car to reduce the amount of Co2 released into the atmosphere which causes the greenhouse effect. We also need to encourage our children to take more regular exercise and to build this into their everyday lives for them as a norm. This is one of our responsibilities as parents. The more parents who decide to bring an end unnecessary school runs, the better it will be for the environment and children's health. I am not suggesting people take unnecessary risks with their children's safety, only that they take what is being said about the environment and health seriously. The responsibility for making changes in the way we live our day-to-day lives, lies with us all."

Whitcliffe Mount Specialist Business & Enterprise College will continue to develop its Travel Plan over the next few months. It is anticipated that Highways work on the roads outside of the school will be completed early in the New Year.