A new survey has shown that many local authorities are planning cuts to school crossing patrols with some even planning to abolish them.
The survey, for the Times Educational Supplement, show that 40% of councils who were contacted were looking at cutbacks to lollipop men or women in a bid to save money. There are currently about 20,000 school crossing patrols throughout the country but, if council plans come to fruition, that number is set to drop dramatically in the coming years.
Currently patrols are discretionary rather than statutory and councils including Barnet, Lambeth, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Bolton are all considering cuts in the service, while Dorset County Council recently announced it was consulting about the possibility of making all of its 68 lollipop people redundant in a saving estimated at £200,000.
Richard Hall, from Road Safety GB, says that the moves would be a mistake and claims that lollipop patrols were a cheap way of enabling children to cross the road safely, saying: “Many sites aren’t busy enough to justify a pelican crossing, but having a patrol there at peak times strikes the right balance between road safety and keeping traffic flowing.”
He adds that children walking to school should be encouraged as it helps to reduce congestion and can also play a role in tackling childhood obesity, but warns that parents, who currently have the peace of mind of having a lollipop person to help their child cross the road, will be more inclined to give them a lift if there was no crossing patrol in place.
There has already been a nationwide reaction to the news with a website launched entitled “Save our Lollipop People” and petitions, marches and sit-down protests have been organised.