Spofforth children call for crossing to make school walk safer

Children carrying handmade posters have joined a demonstration calling for a Pelican crossing in Spofforth.

The gathering outside the village hall on Wednesday 4 November highlighted concerns about traffic on Castle Street and the safety of children walking to school.

Plans are already in place to introduce a 20mph zone through the village, but campaigners want a pedestrian crossing alongside the lower speed limit.

Andrew Paraskos, North Yorkshire councillor for Spofforth, Lower Wharfedale and Tockwith, said: “We’ve got children from the Spofforth village school here to raise awareness about a crossing on Castle Street because we get a heck of a lot of traffic down here.

“We’re in the process of a 20mph zone, but we need a crossing on this road.”

The request will be taken to North Yorkshire Council’s road safety team to assess whether a crossing is feasible. Funding would also need to be found.

Castle Street is currently affected by road closures for utility works.

Coun Paraskos added: “The road is currently closed and we’re still seeing a steady stream of vehicles coming through.

“It’s a rat run between Wetherby and Harrogate.”

Spofforth Parish Councillor Gill Hewitt, who organised the demonstration, said: “The amount of traffic going through the village is horrendous and children feel unsafe walking to school.

“We all feel they should be able to do this without fear and I’m struggling to see how the council can justify not introducing more safety measures on this road.”