The headteacher of Harrogate Grammar School says a section of Otley Road should be reduced to 20mph to improve safety for schoolchildren.
Harrogate Grammar head says 20mph zone should include Otley Road The headteacher of Harrogate Grammar School says a section of Otley Road should be reduced to 20mph to improve safety for schoolchildren. North Yorkshire Council announced last week that speed limits will be introduced outside seven schools in Harrogate under plans for a “landmark” 20mph zone across Pannal Ash and Oatlands. The move followed repeated calls from headteachers and parents to introduce lower speed limits around schools following high-profile collisions involving vehicles and pedestrians. This included an incident earlier this year that left two schoolchildren in hospital. The seven schools Harrogate Grammar School (HGS), Rossett Acre Primary School, Rossett School, Ashville College, St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Oatlands Junior School and Oatlands Infants School. The 20mph zone by HGS will be introduced on Arthur’s Avenue and its surrounding side roads. But the headteacher of Harrogate’s largest secondary school Neil Renton says the zone should be extended to include the busy Otley Road which is a key route in-and-out of town and currently has a limit of 30mph. A statement was read out on behalf of Mr Renton at a meeting of councillors on the Harrogate & Knaresborough area constituency committee on Thursday. He said:
“I absolutely support the landmark scheme put forward and hope this pioneering initiative will also include Otley Road. A large number of students leaving the site at start and end of school would make it entirely sensible to reduce the speed limit on Otley Road. “Our staff see the need for this daily when supervising children. As a school we fully support reducing the speed limit for the safety of children in our community and hope you will also include Otley Road.”At the same meeting, the headteacher of Western Primary School criticised plans to introduce an uncontrolled crossing on Cold Bath Road. Tim Broad said pupils at the school may not realise that cars do not have to stop for them which could put them in danger. He urged the council to rethink its plans, adding that it was focusing on “economic concerns rather than safety of children”. By Thomas Barrett, Local Democracy Reporter Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.
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