OVER a hundred parents have signed a petition against council plans to replace a lollipop man with a zebra crossing.

Broadstone councillor Vikki Slade has organised the campaign to save the school crossing patrol at Lewesdon Drive and the existing traffic calming island.

The road is part of the Springdale First School 20mph zone and has speed bumps and a chicane, which means traffic has to take turns to pass.

Borough of Poole plans to rip out the traffic island and replace it with a zebra crossing.

However, parents at the school have argued that the value of a lollipop person in assisting children to cross the road safely should not be underestimated.

Cllr Slade, whose children all attended Springdale School, said: "This is a backward step for road safety. Traffic already exceeds the speed limit and the island really does slow the traffic - as you never know if a car will be coming the other way. It also means children only need to cross one side of the road if the school crossing patrol is not available, reducing the risk of an accident.”

She continued: “We have started a petition, which has hundreds of signatures, and these changes, which will cost far more than the current arrangements, just aren't needed.

“We were notified it was happening without proper consultation, and the promised travel training for the children at the first school hasn't materialised either. If we hadn't started this petition the children would have returned to see it all finished.

“It's another case of Poole council wasting money and not listening to residents,” she added.

Cllr Slade wants to see the council retain the current traffic arrangements and spend “a modest sum” painting 20mph roundels on the road, replacing the faded markings on the road.

In the last three years, the council has installed zebra or puffin crossings at six sites which previously had a lollipop person.

Nick Phillips, accessibility team leader, Borough of Poole, said: “We currently do not have a permanent school crossing patrol at Lewesdon Drive. In line with RoSPA guidelines, we have reviewed the site and established that investment in a zebra crossing would provide wider benefits to the community as a whole.

“The school crossing patrol was only operational for 65 minutes each school day, whereas the zebra crossing will be available at all times of the day, 365 days per year. As well as supporting activities at the school outside normal hours, the crossing will support and encourage walking to the nearby play area and improve access to the bus stop.

"The existing speed cushions in Lewesdon Drive will be retained and, in addition to the new crossing, the junction next to it will be altered to reduce vehicle speeds when turning into and out of the section of Lewesdon Drive that leads to the school," he added.

Parents and schools in other parts of the borough have been up in arms about similar plans to get rid of school crossing patrols.

As reported in the Daily Echo last week, the lollipop lady at Canford Heath’s Learoyd Road is retiring, but the council has decided against replacing her.

It instead plans to install a zebra crossing, a move which has angered parents and teachers at three nearby schools.

And a petition was set up by Hamworthy residents in February after the council announced it would be installing a crossing in Ashmore Avenue, outside Hamworthy Park Junior School.