Martyn Houldsworth, father to six-year-old Louis, said Gorley Road in Poulner near Ringwood is an accident waiting to happen and has set up a petition for a permanent pedestrian crossing.
A lollipop lady used to be stationed on the road, helping parents and children cross to access Poulner Infant School and Poulner Junior School.
Martyn and 6-year-old Louis Houldsworth, with Olivia and 5-year-old Aaron Gilding (Image: NQ)
However, Martyn said since September the crossing patrol had reduced from everyday to only a few times a month.
“She is great when she is there, but for whatever reason the presence is not there anymore,” he said.
Martyn said a lot of parents park outside the schools, narrowing the road to a single lane, and causing drivers to become frustrated.
“I am scared the potential for parents and families crossing and drivers getting impatient and people getting struck,” said Martyn.
“You can see it bottling up and seeing something will happen.”
The crossing is marked with yellow bollards, known as a ‘courtesy crossing’ aiming to help pedestrians cross the road but drivers are not legally required to stop unlike a formal zebra or light-controlled crossing.
Gorley Road, Poulner (Image: NQ)
Martyn is calling for Hampshire County Council to install a formal crossing so that drivers are required to let pedestrians cross.
“A lot of time something happens after the horse has bolted,” he said.
“You can say there has been no accidents in the last year but one child getting run over is one too many.”
Martyn added that since the lollipop patrol has been reduced more parents have been driving to school due to safety concerns and said a new crossing would encourage walking.
The petition titled ‘Install a pedestrian crossing near Poulner schools’ on Change.org has so far gained 220 signatures.
Martyn said fellow parents and the local schools are ‘fully on board’ with the petition.
Hampshire County Council was contacted for a comment but did not respond by time of publication.