Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER Published: 5 September 2008
Chris Roche with children in the cul-de-sac he would like to see become a “home road”.
‘Make our cul-de-sac a road where children can play safely’
PARENTS are calling for their Archway cul-de-sac to be turned into the borough’s first “home road”, where children can play safely. Residents in Francis Terrace, off busy Junction Road, want special measures introduced to stop motorists turning into the cul-de-sac at speed.
Resident Chris Roche said road safety in the area was already a big problem. “I was walking my five-year-old son to junior school nearby and an illegally parked van drove onto the pavement a few feet from where we were crossing,” he said.
Mr Roche added that 20mph and no-entry signs were often ignored by motorists driving too fast to spot them. “Ours is a family-friendly street where school-age children play,” he added. “The problem is that it is in close proximity to the main Junction Road. Drivers often speed into our little street and one day there is going to be a serious accident.”
Parents want it to be turned into a “home road”, with entry narrowed to slow down traffic, bumps introduced and signs indicating that children are playing.
Mr Roche will be asking for the safety measures at a meeting of Islington Council’s north area committee on Monday.
He said: “I don’t see why we should have to keep our children indoors. We are continually being urged not to allow kids to become couch potatoes or to develop obesity. “A little bit of ingenuity and imagination could make our small street safe. Home roads are popular in Scandinavia but you rarely see them in the UK.”