Concerned parents film drivers going through red lights in West End

Concerned parents have filmed motorists ignoring the green man signal on Crow Road and hogging the crossing instead.

Mum-of-two Linda Tait shared the footage of the dangerous West End route where parents have been campaigning for a lollipop person.

Linda said parents are “terrified” about their kids walking to the nearby schools.

Linda said: “ Children have to be very vigilant crossing the road. A green signal to cross does not mean it is safe. Children have to body swerve cars. This junction seems to make drivers lose their road sense.

“Parents in the workplace have to send their children to cross the road without an adult. Cyclists don’t even use the road. It is too dangerous.”

There are a number of nearby schools including Broomhill and Jordanhill, St Thomas Aquinas secondary and the High School of Glasgow.

Linda gathered almost 1,500 signatures asking the council to employ a school crossing patroller but it has been closed. The council referred to a national policy, which said a school crossing patroller is only necessary in exceptional circumstances.

Linda believes drivers skipping red lights qualifies as exceptional circumstances, which she said is contained in the policy. The Claythorn resident said children are asking for lifts to school to avoid the stressful journey on foot, which she points out is not good for the environment.

She said: “The council needs to look at this petition again and consider the numbers that support it and the evidence. “

The videos showing cars blocking the crossing were filmed by the community over recent months.

A yellow box junction recently introduced for safety reasons has not helped matters according to Linda, who said drivers are rushing to get past it and it has created tailbacks.

A recent council committee closed the petition but decided to seek a a review of the policy regarding school crossing patrollers.

Linda is calling for a face to face meeting with council representatives.

A council spokesman said: “We have looked carefully at the request for a school crossing patroller for Crow Road but the request is not supported by our policy on this issue.

“The policy indicates that school crossing patrollers should not be located at light controlled junctions as the patrollers duplicate the work of traffic signals and can be confusing for drivers.

“The junction in question is designed to national standards and is not considered to be unsafe.

“However, to try and address the concerns of the community, additional measures to improve safety have been introduced such as halving the waiting time for the green man, establishing a yellow box junction and installing interactive signage that instructs drivers to slow down where necessary.

“We have also liaised with Police Scotland and they have undertaken enforcement action against drivers who have breached the road regulations at this location.

“The Environment, Sustainability and Carbon Reduction (ESCR) City Policy Committee is tasked with providing policy direction for the council on a range of environmental matters rather than taking operational decisions.

“It was appropriate for the recent committee paper to recommend the petition on the Crow Road crossing patroller be closed down as an operational decision had been taken in line with council policy.

“Following the recent ESCR committee, a review of the school crossing patroller policy will be now be undertaken.

“We will also look at whether further clarity is required on the petitions process and where issues highlighted by public petitions should be ultimately be dealt with.”