Parents' concern after Aylesbury school walking route crossing lights malfunction days before the start of term

Parents are concerned about the first day of school after a key walking route crossing malfunctioned.
The Horse and Jockey crossing which is experiencing problemsThe Horse and Jockey crossing which is experiencing problems
The Horse and Jockey crossing which is experiencing problems

Many children are starting at the new St Michaels School in Weedon Road, Aylesbury on Wednesday which is a nervous experience in itself.

And, in an effort to instil freedom and responsibility in their children, many parents will be letting their children walk to school.

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But concerns have been raised as the lights at the main crossing areas near the Horse and Jockey are experiencing problems.

One worried parent said that they stood there for 15 mins and they could not cross after pressing the button.

Many other parents who live in Watermead, Berryfields and the surrounding area, have been contacting Bucks County Council, but so far no repairs have been made.

Dave Roberts, network strategy manager at Transport for Buckinghamshire, said: "Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) has received a number of reports over the summer regarding issues with the pedestrian crossing at The Horse & Jockey traffic lights in Aylesbury.

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"The internal monitoring system has incorrectly identified that the red/green man lamps have failed and as a result of this, a safety system has kicked in, disabling the push button demand buttons. This is in accordance with the national standards for all traffic lights when a fault like this occurs. Maintenance engineers have attended within 24 hours on each occasion and restored the lights to fully operational.

"As this has occurred, an instruction has been issued to the maintenance contractor to replace the monitoring hardware to prevent a repeat of the faults in error. Replacement parts have been ordered as these are not routinely held in stock and we hope to be able to have these installed in the near future.

"Over the summer, in preparation for the opening of the St Michael’s School, a completely new stand alone crossing has been installed by TfB on Weedon Road, near Holman Street, to provide additional, safe crossing facilities for school children and other pedestrians."