A85 road danger for kids Safety call at crossing

Children in Comrie are dicing with death daily as they try and cross the busy A85 to get to and from school, it has been claimed.

Since the lollipop lady retired in March, there has been no regular crossing patroller in place.

The dangerous situation was highlighted last week when a concerned mum posted a video on social media of pupils trying to find a gap among HGVs and other traffic to make a dash across Drummond Street.

Eliana Borthwick also sent the video to Bear Scotland and Transport Scotland.

The mother of four said: “It’s like that every afternoon.”

Eliana won’t let her children cross the road without her, but even when she is with them she says it is a major task to get them and a pram across safely.

Since her video went online a crossing patroller has been put in place in the afternoons this week but there are still times when no-one is available.

The school janitor has been covering the morning shift.

Parents are notified by the school via email and text message if no patrol has been secured for a particular day and were told on Monday that a supply crossing patroller would be in attendance this week in the afternoons, with the janitor continuing to cover the mornings.

However, the message said there would be no patrol at lunchtimes on Thursday and Friday until further notice.

Meanwhile, a group of senior citizens this week declared they also found it hard to cross the road at certain times of the day.

One, who did not wish to be named, told the Herald: “It’s terrible having to watch the children trying to negotiate the busy road.

“We find it hard enough to cross ourselves. It’s time we had some form of pedestrian crossing.

“It’s particularly dangerous when you get vans and lorries parking obscuring the view of the road.

“Other communities on the A85 have crossings, such as Crieff and Methven, so why can’t we? Does something bad have to happen before something is done?”

The issue will be discussed at the Comrie Community Council meeting on Thursday, September 14, at 7.30pm in the White Church.

Eliana added: “It’s dangerous enough for a grown up. A road like that needs a crossing for all members of the community.

“We need as many people as possible to come along and put pressure on Transport Scotland and BEAR Scotland who have repeatedly refused to accept there is a road safety issue.”

David Robertson, acting chair of Comrie Community Council, commented: “I believe this will be a hot issue at the meeting.

“We will have a PKC councillor in attendance and will bring it to the council’s attention at the meeting and then take it from there.”

Mr Robertson said that a pedestrian crossing had been looked at in the past, and traffic management surveys had been carried out at the time, but the idea had not been deemed viable by the authorities.

He added: “Whether that has changed now or not, I don’t know.”

A spokesperson for BEAR Scotland said: “We’re aware of the parents’ concerns regarding the vacant school crossing patrol position on the A85 in Comrie.

“We are currently discussing the matter with Perth and Kinross Council who are responsible for school crossing patrols and with Transport Scotland.”