Slow down near our schools!

The East Renfrewshire school has been championing the idea of a ‘walking bus’ this week, with 17 children from Stamperland following a dedicated adult ‘driver’ on the walk to school.

It’s the latest move to tackle congestion near the primary , with reports of speeding traffic and “near misses” rife.

Simon Cunningham, Netherlee Parent Council chair, told The Extra: “It’s only a matter of time before a child is killed or seriously injured by a car and I am not prepared to let this happen.

“Not a week goes by without me receiving emails from parents, or being stopped in the playground by mums and dads complaining about the speed of cars approaching the school. There have been near misses where cars driving though the pavilion car park have reversed and nearly hit a child.

“Action must be taken to reduce the amount of cars coming into the school — and the walking bus is one way that we can act to reduce that. We have been extremely well supported by headteacher Mrs Scott, East Refrewshire Council, Police Scotland the community wardens.”

The idea is to reduce the amount of cars around the school while promoting the health benefits of walking — and already, the ‘bus’ has had to turn passengers away. It is hoped that the scheme will be extended to three more routes.

The initiative follows a successful bid from the parent council to ERC last year to have an extra lollipop man stationed at the Linnpark Avenue corner.

A council spokeswoman welcomed the walking bus initiative, commenting: “The safety of all children who attend our schools is of the utmost importance and we continually seek to work with parents on this.

“Our schools also encourage ‘park and stride’ — parking a distance from the school and walking there instead of driving.

“We would encourage parents and members of the public to park and drive responsibly and respect parking regulations around every East Renfrewshire school. Irresponsible parking is also enforceable by community wardens and drivers flouting regulations risk being fined.”

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