FEARS are growing about the safety of young children having to cross roads to their primary school at Burraton.

The concern is sparked by the fact that new roundabouts are set to be built in the area, which many already term dangerous for youngsters.

They point to the amount of traffic in the area coming from the busy dual carriageway which many Burraton school pupils have to negotiate.

The situation was highlighted at the recent Saltash town council meeting, when a local resident presented councillors with a petition signed by around 150 people. This called for the matter to be looked at in detail, for safety reasons.

Worries

The councillors were told that it seemed more people were coming forward to voice their worries about the difficulty of crossing the dual carriageway to school, with new roundabouts in place. It seemed the situation had not been thought out properly.

Council member, Marjorie Schikowsky, said a letter from the Road Safety committee had been sent to Cornwall county highways about the problem, and deputy mayor Joyce Mepsted added that they were well aware of the problems.

She said the roundabouts were used as a traffic calming measure. She added that there were also many elderly people in the area who needed to cross the roads.

Cllr Bryan Preston added that pedestrians need to be thought of, due to the increase of traffic on the road.

The head teacher of Burraton primary school, Peter Hunkin, said he was concerned that the roundabouts will not provide enough protection for pedestrians.

He said: 'We have a school crossing patrol near the Ploughboy Inn and the fish and chip shop which caters for most of our students. However, we do have pupils who need to cross further on down the road.

'The volume of traffic is high anyway, but it is set to increase with the work in the tunnel.

Protection

"I wonder if a mini-roundabout will be enough protection for those needing to cross, including elderly residents.'

A local parent said: 'We really need two lollipop ladies to help the school. One is just not enough.

'Cars could go much slower on the road - at the moment they bomb down it even though it's a 30mph zone. When the tunnel is closed, and more traffic comes through the area it will become a nightmare.'