A 10-YEAR-OLD girl from Thornbury has called on local politicians to make her street safer for everyone by installing a zebra crossing.

Izzie Talbot, who is in year six at St Mary’s Primary School, wrote a letter to Thornbury Town Council asking for them to consider a crossing on Castle Street as it is “important for kids to walk to school safely”.

With many people crossing the road each morning, including children going to and from Castle School and St Mary’s, and parking on both sides of the road, the road could pose a risk to pedestrians.

Among her reasons why a crossing would be a good idea, she said that cars often drive quickly down the street, well over the 20mph speed limit, and with other cars parking outside the NatWest bank, it can often make it hard to see when crossing.

“I want a crossing there so I can walk to school without being run over,” she said. “Lots of people cross the road all the time going to different places.

“There are also lots of new houses being built and that might mean more people will be crossing the road.

“Where I live there is no safe route unless you want to walk in the other direction first and use the crossing on the High Street.”

Despite not having the authority to install a crossing, the council, after receiving the letter, invited Izzie to read it aloud at their meeting on October 3.

Izzie said she wasn’t worried about talking in a room full of grown-ups but her mum Angela said how proud of her she was.

“She was brilliant,” she said. “I couldn’t have done that at her age to stand up in a room full of strangers and read that out.

“This kind of concern is probably better coming from her, she is the one who said we needed it.”

Describing the road as a “rat run” in the mornings, she added: “At some point, something is going to happen. It is just getting worse so something should be done.”

Izzie and Angela have already started a petition at St Mary’s School and are hoping to do the same at Castle School, as well as starting an online petition.

The decision to install a crossing would lie with South Gloucestershire Council, but the town council have said they would support Izzie’s cause, adding their voice to the argument and help it reach the right people.

Thornbury mayor, Cllr Helen Harrison said: “We were all very impressed with Izzie’s initiative to see the reason behind her problem and do something positive about it. She spoke her arguments very clearly.

“Anyone who agrees and have similar experiences is asked to add their support and any evidence as this would be needed to help it happen.”

A South Gloucestershire Council spokeswoman said: “We take road safety very seriously and would like to thank Izzie for raising her concerns, which she has made via the town council.

"We haven’t had a formal request to investigate the feasibility of installing a zebra crossing at this location, however any requests would need to be fully assessed alongside other schemes submitted for consideration.

"While enforcing the 20mph speed limit is the responsibility of the police, we will also alert our parking attendants to enforce any breaches of the ‘no waiting at any time’ signs which are clearly displayed.”

To sign the online petition, visit http://petitions.southglos.gov.uk/petitions.ti/zebracrossingoncastlestreet