Action on double death road

Friday February 5, 2010

Former Student Union President Sofia Lopes-Cunha with fellow campaigners.

College students are stepping up their campaign to improve the safety of the Talgarth Road after two students lost their lives on the busy stretch of road.

Pupils, from Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College (EHWLC), are calling on Transport for London (TfL) to upgrade a crossing on the A4 after several near misses and two fatalities over the past 18 months.

Volunteers dressed as green men have been ramming home the road safety message outside the college's Baron's Court campus while getting passers-by to sign a petition calling for improvements.

More than 1,500 people have signed the petition which will be handed into TfL later this month. The students have also won the council's backing.

Student Union President Sumaya Dahdoud said near-misses are a regular occurrence at the busy junction. She says: "Over 8000 students come to this campus, including students with learning difficulties and disabilities and international students. Staff and members of the local community and young mums who visit the nearby nurseries also have to use the crossing.

"Our petition will hopefully encourage TfL to realise that the current crossing is badly in need of updating, taking into account the number of students and members of the public who use the island at peak times."

The council's deputy leader - Cllr Nicholas Botterill - met with students and the College's Principal, Paula Whittle, earlier this week to see if the council can assist with the college's campaign. He says: "I was tremendously impressed with the students' proactive approach. We fully support the petition the college is delivering to TfL, who we believe are already working on plans to improve road safety in the area.

"We will, however, continue to push for quick action to prevent anymore dreadful fatalities from happening."

A TfL spokeswoman said plans to alter the crossing had been hampered in the past because of the high cost of dealing with the tangle of pipes and cables under the north-eastern corner of the junction. She says: "TfL is investigating a range of options for improving road safety and facilities for pedestrians at the junction of A4 Talgarth Road and Gliddon Road."