Action needs to be taken to improve Redbridge roads after two children were struck by a car, campaigners say.
A petition was launched on October 21 calling on Redbridge Council to improve road safety in Loxford and Clementswood.
Three days earlier, two schoolchildren were struck by a car in Sunnyside Road in an alleged hit-and-run incident.
One boy was taken to an east London hospital, while the other suffered minor injuries.
Three people were arrested and later bailed.
The council said it was aware of the incident and had identified the area for “additional road safety measures,” including “safer” crossings.
Most of the roads in the area already fell within a 20mph zone, Councillor Jo Blackman said.
But petition organiser Ruthba Amin said the issue lay with the lack of pedestrian crossings, which meant children were at risk.
She said there is “not a single safe crossing” on the inner roads, leaving schoolchildren “vulnerable to fast-moving traffic”.
A father-of -hree, who did not wish to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) there was a “plethora of problems” with the road.
He said: “My eldest has a bicycle and wants to cross the road on his own but I have to say no.
“People cut corners [on junctions] and don’t stop for pedestrians crossing the road.
“It’s really sad because you want your kids to be independent as they get older. And my nine-year-old doesn’t want to be holding mum or dad’s hand when they cross the road.”
He could recall “three or four near-misses” in the past six months, with cars nearly hitting him, his young son, and his pushchair.
The petition, addressed to interim chief executive Adrian Loades, demands “safe pedestrian crossings” for Staines Road, Eton Road, Gordon Road, Sunnyside Road, Richmond Road, and Woodlands Road.
It also calls on the council to install “clear signage indicating schoolchildren are in the area, with specific times displayed for school drop-off and pick-up hours,” and for the authority to “increase traffic patrols and enforcement” during school hours.
Cllr Blackman, cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said in a statement: “Following previous road safety work in the area, most of the roads surrounding the school are already within a 20mph zone.
“We have also identified this area for additional road safety measures, including traffic calming, providing safer crossings for pedestrians and any other recommendations made by the police following this incident.
“However, even with the addition of extra safety measures, we still need motorists to play their part by driving carefully and within the legal speed limit.”
She said that the council would “consult local people and the police on any schemes we bring forward”.
*The Met Police arrested two men, 40 and 43, on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and perverting the course of justice in connection with the Sunnyside Road incident.
A 37-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, driving while unfit through drink or drugs and perverting the course of justice.
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