Councillor’s concern over road safety at lunchtime

A LERWICK councillor has encouraged the police to remind pupils at the Anderson High School about pedestrian safety amid concerns over the way some schoolchildren are crossing the roads at lunchtime.

Stephen Leask suggested to a meeting of Lerwick Community Council on Monday that officers could visit the school to give talks on how to be a safe pedestrian when crossing the road.

Pupils crossing the busy roundabout near Tesco in groups as they nip for a bite to eat has become a regular sight since the new Anderson opened in 2017, while they also often head for food in the Grantfield area too.

Police officer Angela Manson agreed at the community council meeting to “see if something can be done” on the issue.

Leask said after the meeting that there are a number of pupils who shun the “nutritious meals” at the Anderson for lunch in favour of food elsewhere.

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He said there had been some reports of youths crossing the road in a “haphazard” way.

“The last thing we want is an accident to occur,” the Lerwick North councillor said, giving the example of how a driver using a mobile phone may not notice pedestrians crossing the road.

“If we could do something like what I suggested to the police officer, then that could help.”

The issue of traffic on Lerwick’s Commercial Street, meanwhile, also came under the spotlight at the community council meeting.

Manson said she had been working with the police force for only five weeks and in this time she had already issued seven notices to drivers on the street.

Three of these were for parking in a disabled space without an appropriate badge.

The stretch of road between the Market Cross and the Fort Chip Shop is a pedestrian-only zone from 11.30am to 5.30pm between Monday and Friday, with only disability badge holders permitted to drive through for access purposes between those times.