Urgent call for action after ‘near misses’ outside Gainsborough school

Parents, Kayleigh Kay, left and Kelly Geeson, are joined by head teacher, Gary Brown and Coun. Keith Panter, right, who are supporting their campaign for traffic calming measures outside the Castle Wood Academy in Gainsborough.

Parents and teachers at a Gainsborough school are calling for road safety measure after a number of near misses - including a girl almost being hit by a taxi.

Kayleigh Key, one of the parents at Castle Wood Academy, said she would like to see a 20mph school safety zone on The Avenue outside the school after her daughter was almost hit by a taxi.

The 32-year-old mother of four - who has two children who attend the school - said she had witnessed a lot of near misses on the road.

Kayleigh, who lives near Corringham Road, said: “A taxi almost ran my girl over, it is getting quite bad. I have witnessed a lot of near misses, vehicles come past the school very fast.

“I am concerned that when the school expands it will get worse. So now is the time for some safety measures to be put in place before any serious accidents happen.”

The school is set to double in size over the next few years.

And, parents and teachers are now rallying together to call on Lincolnshire County Council to make changes.

One of the main issues they have pointed out is that the road goes from 40mph to 30mph yards from the school, and also that motorists are often speeding and the level of parking on the road.

Campaigners fear that traffic travelling along The Avenue is not slowing down sufficiently when they pass the Castle Wood Academy in Gainsborough made worse by lack of road side signs.

Gary Brown, headteacher at the 170-pupil academy, said he has been appealing for changes on The Avenue, for the past two years.

He said: “The near misses do cause anxiety.

“I think there are too many cars for what the road was designed for.

“When I have contacted the council they have said there hasn’t been enough accidents - but, we want to prevent accidents rather than react to them.

“I want to see a 20mph limit, the yellow zig zag lines extended and some sort of crossing, at the moment we have nothing.”

A county council spokesperson said: “We’re aware of the concerns and are planning to meet with the school to discuss potential measures that could be introduced to improve safety.”