A PEDESTRIAN crossing assessment is to be carried out on a busy road where children face "an accident waiting to happen".

Adel and Wharfedale councillor Barry Anderson has welcomed the fact that the Leeds City Council assessment will be carried out in September when the schools return.

He said:“Every day children face the challenge of crossing Pool Bank New Road during peak hour traffic, with no official crossing available. There is only the refuge island near the turning for Old Pool Bank Road, opposite Swallow Drive. The refuge is not wide enough to allow pedestrians to safely wait if they cannot get straight across, for example if you have a pushchair or pram, it needs to be widened.

"The amount of traffic using Pool Bank New Road is high and the speed of some of the traffic coming down the hill can be excessive for the conditions, considering the various openings on to Pool Bank New Road from cul de sacs and linking roads. Due to the rural nature of the road, drivers who are not familiar with the area don’t always realise they are in the village and there is the potential for pedestrians to exit from Willow Court on to Pool Bank New Road. There are also children waiting for school buses at Pool Bank Court where the pavement is extremely narrow and there is not enough space for them to wait.

"I welcome the fact that Highways are going to do a pedestrian crossing assessment when the schools go back and when the roads will be nearer to “normal” traffic flows.”

A pedestriant/vehicle survey was carried out during the second lockdown, and although schools were still open, it is believed results may have been skewed. Because of this the council is now planning to repeat the survey in September.

Cllr Anderson, who took up the issue last October, said:"The amount of traffic on Pool Bank is very high, the average speed is definitely not 30 and the sun setting earlier means that visibility is reducing so the risks that are already high are just increasing and it is an accident waiting to happen. This is a major safe guarding issue, with all the rules around children that are in place, I can't believe no health and safety person has taken this seriously?"