Mum-of-three's fears over children walking to school leads to calls for speed limit reduction

The Mum-of-three, Chantelle “Chaz” Robson set up the petition calling for the speed limit to be lowered from 30mph to 20mph on Cleveland Road after witnessing a crash.

Chaz was dropping her two youngest children off at school when she saw a car crash on the road earlier this month.

She said: “One cars front end was totally destroyed, as fire crews rushed about, people in tears were at the roadside, that’s when it hit me how serious it could be, I thought of the speed involved for such devastation, then I thought what if it had hit a person or child?”

Chaz says a lot of families live in the area and there are a lot of people walk or cycle to school.

She said: “I’ve only just started to allow my 10-year-old son walk unaccompanied with a friend and every route they take always involves crossing Cleveland Road. I feel sick with worry.”

After two days the petition had gathered over 300 signatures.

Chaz said: “Comments all say the same thing – that it is a "death trap" and "getting worse",“The response has been amazing, worrying at times reading the stories but it's inspiring how this issue resonates with so many. Thanks to the power of the online petition, we can unify our voices in something constructive.”

Sunderland City Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, Councillor Amy Wilson said: “We are aware of people’s concerns, and while there are already 30mph speed restrictions on Cleveland Road which motorists should legally adhere to, we are already examining a number of potential road safety improvement proposals in the Barnes Area.

“Council officers regularly monitor any part of the road network where accidents or collisions have occurred to assess if problems may re-occur, and we consider putting traffic management measures in place to prevent them, if appropriate. Any such measures proposed, would only be introduced after full public consultation.

“Petitions can add to that process, and all those received by the council are given full attention and consideration.”

To sign the petition click here.