A PARENT has said called the council "negligent" in a campaign for better road signs near a primary school and playground.
Jenny Lunnon is a mum of two, with a daughter in Year 5 at Wolvercote Primary School near Oxford, and after seeing several "near misses" at school drop off and pick up she feels the roads need to be made safer in the area.
For two years she has been campaigning to improve safety around Wolvercote Primary School and the playground in Upper Wolvercote.
Ms Lunnon has said road signs near the school are either faded, covered by overgrown hedges or are non existent meaning drivers do not always realise there is a school in the area or that it is a 20mph speed limit.
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She explained the triangular school sign in First Turn has faded loosing its red colour and reflectivity causing it to not be visible in the dark. There are no school signs on Mere Road and St Peter's on the approach to the primary school.
She has also said the playground and small 20 mph signs are obscured by mould and others on Woodstock Road and First Turn have "disappeared" into the hedges.
The mum of two is concerned for children's safety in the area and added that her daughter will be doing her bike ability course in May and she feels “it is not a safe place to do it”.
Ms Lunnon is asking Oxford city Council to do "simple maintenance" to check the road signs near the primary school and make drivers aware of the 20mph speed limit.
Ms Lunnon said: “I would like to see someone from the council do a proper safety assessment and replace any signs that are not fit for purpose anymore, which is most of them.”
She added: “Somebody from the council ought to be walking around once a year to see if it is the safest, we can make it for children.”
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According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents's leaflet Drivers and Vulnerable Road Users, around 30 child pedestrians are killed or seriously injured every week. Many of these accidents occur in the streets around schools.
Ms Lunnon feels the council is not doing enough to ensure the safety of the 300 children at Wolvercote School and would be prepared to buy a road sign herself.
She said: "I feel so strongly about it that I would be prepared to buy a fit-for-purpose school sign, though on principle I think the money for this kind of essential safety work should really come out of our council tax."
Oxford Direct Services said: "A recent inspection highlighted that there were a number of faded signs in the vicinity of Wolvercote Primary School. Subsequently the replacement signs have been ordered and we would hope to be in a position to install these imminently.
"With regard to the report of hedges obscuring speed signs, we will ensure that any hedgerow located within our area of operation will be attended to.
"We undertake inspections on a regular basis. However, we welcome feedback from residents and would encourage them to report any issues to us via the FixMyStreet portal."
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