Histon misses the lollipop man

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The lollipop man who helps kids cross the high street in Histon on their way to school is off sick, even lollipop men occasionally get sick, and he’s sorely missed. For no more than 20 minutes in the morning when children need to cross this road on the way to school and at the same time commuter traffic is heavy and queued back from the B1049 cross roads there is chaos to which he brings order. Get well soon!

But the issue is more fundamental and the lollipop man simply functions to overcome problems which need to be rooted out at source and these problems relate to the Station Road/High Street junction, the chicane through the village past the Co-Op and the state and width of the footpaths on both sides of the road. It will not be easy to make it safe for children to cross this road safely when they go to school but there are some options which should be evaluated. These include:

  • narrow the junction with Station Road and use the extra pavement space so generated to provide a refuge for people waiting to cross the road;
  • paint a box junction on the road so that when traffic is queued back from the lights it leaves space for people to cross the road;
  • provide flashing lights to alert motorists of the school crossing point (and program them so that they work at the right time!); and
  • implement a 20mph speed limit through the village.

County Councillor David Jenkins joined children, their parents and PCSOs my the crossing this morning. He comments: ‘it really is chaotic and I keep my fingers crossed that we won’t have an accident. Drivers are sometimes impatient, children do their best to cross with care but often their visibility is restricted and their is insufficient space on the footpath for people to wait safely. I know that the safer Routes to School crew have looked at this but seem to have given up. I’d like to see a more fundamental analysis and bold solutions proposed that safeguard the children but still allow traffic to flow easily through the village’.

In the meantime if anyone can help with interim lollipop duties could he or she please contact Andy Swallowe, School Crossing Patrols Team Leader for Cambridgeshire County Council, on 01480 375105

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