Moray Council: Apology for lack of communication over school crossing
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A Moray Council officer has apologised for a lack of communication with parents over the location of a pedestrian crossing on a busy Elgin street.
Traffic lights will be installed on Morriston Road at Elgin Academy next year.
However some parents and residents believe the safer option would be to site them closer to Bishopmill Primary School, around 320 metres to the east of the secondary.
An emergency motion was put forward at a meeting of the economic development and infrastructure committee today by councillors Tim Eagle (Buckie, Conservative) and Maria McLean (Elgin North, Conservative) to discuss the matter.
They say they did so after members of the public raised issue over both a lack of consultation and the positioning of the crossing.
Nicola Moss, the council's transportation manager told the meeting many factors had to be taken into consideration when determining the location.
These, she said, included traffic volume, number of pedestrians, proximity of junctions and other accesses as well as visibility.
Mrs Moss added: "I completely understand the concerns raised by parents particularly those at Bishopmill Primary.
"The decision was not without a lot of consideration.
"What we didn’t do was properly engage with the primary school community, and for that I apologise.
"I understand that it has caused angst."
Mrs Moss gave an assurance she would be in touch with the head teacher and parent council at Bishopmill Primary to update them on the project.
Cllr Eagle said the safety of pupils should be paramount.
He added: "It seems to an extent the council’s hands are tied.
"Could some of this year’s budget be used to drive forward health and safety for our children in the light of school crossing patrollers not being there?"
Stephen Cooper, head of direct services, advised safety measures were being looked at to mitigate potential dangers around Bishopmill Primary.
School crossing patrollers were axed as part of the council’s cost cutting exercise in 2019.
Meanwhile , the committee agreed to write to Transport Scotland to consider additional pedestrian crossings in Keith.
This followed a request by Theresa Coull (Keith and Cullen, SNP) as children have to cross the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness trunk road and the A95 to Banff to reach Keith Primary and Keith Grammar schools.
An update on proposals for a crossing on the west side of Thornhill Road in Elgin will be provided following a request from cllr John Divers (Elgin South, Labour).
Related article: Call for crossing outside Elgin primary
