Forum Topic

Recipe for disaster

Some day, someone will be hurt or worse at the morning drop off outside the gates of Derwentwater School and that some day really could be any day soon if the traffic congestion at the intersection of Shakespeare and Spencer that we witnessed this am is anything to go by. Ealing Council's waste/recycling lorry collecting, 3 or 4 lorries making deliveries to that new development on Shakespeare Road, bicycles, irate drivers, children crossing roads. It will happen. Ealing Council really should be doing more to make this junction safer. No deliveries or collection till after 9.30am at the very least. It's just a question of time before something goes terribly wrong here.

Alex Watson ● 4521d17 Comments

Ealing Council will do nothing to make it safer. They have no reagard for anyone who actually lives here.  In fact, once the Oaks development has been finished, traffic in the whole of Poet's Corner, will be much, much worse. With the lorries and traffic going in and out of the supermarket (Waitrose?) car park, more cars etc will be forced into the surrounding roads.  The school should be complaining hard to the Council now before it gets worse, which it will.

Anne Brown ● 4521d

It is always busy outside the school both in the morning and the afternoon.  The congestion is not caused by the once a week refuse / recycling collection however but by parents dropping their children off by car.  Perhaps walking to school would help?

Sarah Woolway ● 4521d

If you think that's bad, pop round to the rear school entrance. Junction of Stuart and Newburgh roads is totally chaotic every school day. The school has tried hard to ask parents not to park so close and on occasion teachers have been present directing traffic. This particular location will suffer even greater adverse effects due to the Oaks works and subsequent opening, a Stuart road resident is particularly active in bringing this to the attention of ealing council!

Peter Savick ● 4521d

I agree Sarah, parents dropping their children close to the school gates on Shakespeare and Newburgh is a huge ongoing problem. But this morning was just unbelievable. Total gridlock, refuse trucks and lorries reversing, drivers revving their engines and all the while, children weaving in and out of the chaos to get to school on time. A local parent/resident took pictures which I'm sure will circulate but something needs to be done before it's too late.

Alex Watson ● 4521d

My Aunt campaigned really vigorously to get her local council to install a traffic mirror to improve visibility at a dangerous junction. She found out that the only proof that this was a dangerous junction they would accept in order to carry out a consultation was fatalities. Lets hope this is not what it will take. I am so appalled that this is still going on Alex and well done for bringing it up.

Kim Rugg ● 4521d

If you're dropping off kids in the car you ARE the traffic. What's wrong with walking to school or using public transport?

Peter Millman ● 4521d

I wondered that a bit Peter...how many of the children live within half a mile? It must be lots. What proportion walk, cycle or scooter?

Sara Nathan ● 4521d

I don't think it is fair to blame this on parents dropping off, a majority do get to school by non motorised means, witness the caravan of children scooting walking and cycling up Shakespeare road.Sure, the ones who insist on dropping off their children as close to the gate as possible are a part of the problem and when I was a Derwentwater parent I had many heated arguments with such irresponsible drivers, especially the ones doing a three point turn by the gates after dropping off at the gate, or reversing up the Dead end. The position of the school at the heart of a residential neighbourhood with a network of two way roads only wide enough for one car to pass at a time, no pedestrian crossings, drivers rat running between Horn lane and Uxbridge road, council vehicles carrying out council work make the situation impossible. Many schools with much safer conditions to start with, get a lollipop person and a pedestrian crossing. Derwentwater is one of the biggest schools in the borough and has neither. It deserves better, or are the lives of our children not worth this?Alex is right, it is not 'if' but 'when' a tragedy happens.

Kim Rugg ● 4521d

This has been a problem for a long time, certainly when my daughters were at Derwentwater and my eldest is now 30! I agree a lollipop person and crossing would do much to help, but so would kids walking to school and not getting lifts.

Chris Hurley ● 4521d

Kim is right, most people do walk. Not all, but most. The school runs various incentives to encourage pupils to walk to school (badges awarded, etc) and the few parents who insist on driving right up to the gate to drop off their children usually face the wrath of a number of parents who aren't afraid of making their feelings known. But, as mentioned in this thread, it a rat run between Horn Lane and Uxbridge Road in the morning and nothing is being done to make it safer.

Alex Watson ● 4521d

At one of the schools where I work in Tower Hamlets the governors and parents' group operate a rota to control the traffic around the school and to stop cars clogging up the cul-de sac where the school entrance is.  It works very well.

Lucy Chambers ● 4521d

Isn't the problem for the most part that parents who do drop their children by car have no where to leave it for the short time it takes to walk their children through the gates? As far as I can see there is no parking at either gate.

Maire Lowe ● 4520d

Isn't the problem for the most part that parents who do drop their children by car have no where to leave it for the short time it takes to walk their children through the gates? As far as I can see there is no parking at either gate.

Maire Lowe ● 4520d

I witnessed the chaos yesterday, it wasn't the fault of the refuse collectors, but the lazy parents who drive to school, and the ridiculously big articulated lorries using Spencer Road as a short cut.  Personally, I would love to see Spencer Road turned into a one way street.  There is  no reason for people to drive their kids right up to the school gates, unless they want to cause an accident.  As a parent/Governor at Derwentwater, I'd like to see a Council/police representative come down and observe the Wednesday morning nightmare, unannounced, and name and shame the worst parent parking offenders in the school newsletter!!!  Alex, I'll PM you!

Jo Poole ● 4520d

~A good idea.

Dee Cook ● 4519d

I had a look this morning and spoke to people living near the Development. All said that for some reason their delivery lorries seem to time their arrival for just before nine, as the children are arriving for school. They have put a large plastic shed on the pavement forcing everyone into the road. The area around the site is dirty and doesn't seem to have been cleaned recently. I think Council enforcement should take a look.

Maire Lowe ● 4519d

We have written to the Council who will send Health and Safetypersonnel to look at the site and take appropriate action

Maire Lowe ● 4519d