15th June 2008

Dear Sir

Cliff Bevan's inside knowledge of NHS intensive care adds to the debate about road safety and the need for pedestrian crossings (Star June 9). Petitions presented to council for crossings deserve to be heard but few will be successful. There is massive waiting list and a small pot of money which funds a few crossings a year.

The prospects have improved, however, as the Green group successfully negotiated funding for ten extra crossings across the city in the 2008/9 budget. I am pleased to advise that crossings for Greystones School, Greystones road and Ecclesall Junior School, Ringinglow road are numbers 3 and 4 on the priority list. The crossings, in the area that Cliff and others in Ecclesall have pushed for, should be in place during this financial year.

More funding is needed to start to make inroads into a long list of dangerous sites. At the very least, we need the increased 2008/9 pot to become the baseline for future years. In 2009/10 it will be the Lib Dems budget without any need for support from the Labour and Green groups. It is to be hoped that their budgets continue higher funding levels in recognition of the many dangerous crossing areas in the city. Hopefully, that will allow more crossings to make it to the top of the list sooner rather than later.

Yours Sincerely

Eamonn Ward

Sheffield Green Party

The original Star article that this letter responds to fiollows

Star June 9
A HOSPITAL consultant who cares for children injured in road accidents is calling for more zebra crossings to protect other youngsters.
Cliff Bevan, a paediatric intensive care consultant at Sheffield Children's Hospital, has lobbied councillors to put crossings near schools in Ecclesall.

Mr Bevan and his wife Sarah say children are risking their lives walking to five schools in the area because the roads are so dangerous.

"I see the consequences of serious road traffic accidents all too frequently," said Mr Bevan, who presented councillors with a 285-name petition.

"By the time the patients get to me on the intensive care unit, it is often damage-limitation as children have already had a significant brain injury."

Mr and Mrs Bevan have two children aged five and eight who attend Ecclesall infant and junior schools, but they struggle to walk to school because of the traffic.

Mr Bevan said: "We have to cross two major roads to get them there safely. My nine-year-old should be capable of waking alone but we would feel negligent to allow him to cross Knowle Lane as we can barely cross safely ourselves.

"We have to cross Ringinglow Road to get to the infant school.

It is a very busy and dangerous road with no traffic controlling signs and no warning of schools.

Mr Bevan says that, between the five schools in the area, 3,500 children have to negotiate Ringinglow Road.

Coun Ian Auckland, cabinet member for transport, said: "We are very sympathetic to parents who encourage their children to walk to school but the number of requests for traffic calming does exceed the resources available so there will inevitably be more losers than winners."