MORE than £100,000 has been pledged by councillors to help improve safety on roads outside three schools.

At a meeting of the Severn Vale Area Forum councillors agreed to put £102,300 towards measures to improve safety on roads near The Castle School in Thornbury, St Helen’s Primary School in Alveston and Tortworth Primary School as part of the Local Transport Capital Programme.

At a cost of £59,670, the existing passenger refuge in Gloucester Road, Thornbury, near The Castle School’s sixth form block, will be upgraded to a zebra crossing.

As well as this, a scheme to install three speed cushions, waiting restrictions and to formalise ‘School Keep Clears’ at St Helen’s Primary School in Alveston was agreed at a cost of £21,230.

Councillors also supported a £21,400 proposal to install a central island at the entrance to Tortworth Primary School which would include wig-wag signs to help reduce the speed of traffic travelling in Tortworth Road, outside the school.

Peter Smart, headteacher at The Castle School, said: "We are pleased that a scheme is being implemented to improve pedestrian crossing facilities on Gloucester Road.

"We welcome any measures that enhance road safety for members of the community in Thornbury."

Carol Bowes, headteacher of Tortworth Primary School, said that the improvements would not only be of benefit to people going to the school put also for anyone using the path.

“We’ve been keeping a book of incidents at the junction, not necessarily involving pupils and parents coming to and from the school but also in general.

“Through this we’ve been in touch with Cllr Jon O’Neill who put the project forward and now we’ve got traffic calming measures as well as improvements to the junction which will make it safer.

“There are a number of issues involving traffic past the school; being on the brow of the hill sometimes the sun can make it hard for drivers coming up the hill to see properly and traffic will sometimes come to a standstill and a number of cars have been rear-ended.

“Hopefully the traffic calming measures and improvements to the junction will make it safer for pupils and their parents but also for the general public as well.”

The funding was allocated through South Gloucestershire Council’s Local Transport Capital programme at the meeting of the Severn Vale Area Forum on Wednesday, March 4.

As part of the scheme councillors also agreed that the installation of a footway in the vicinity of Drews Orchard in Cromhall, a footway along the B4055 in Easter Compton and reducing the speed limit from Old Down into Olveston to 40mph should be investigated so that the schemes could be implemented in the future.