Parents and children from Lewisham schools and nurseries have gathered in Brockley to call for the installation of pedestrian crossing on a “dangerous” B-road.

On the morning of March 10, parents and children took action expressing their concerns for Drakefell Road and Gellatly Road, which is frequently used by a number of schools during sporting events and commutes to school.

Currently, the 1.2km road has one crossing which is located far from the prime location where most children cross.

Children and their parents from three Lewisham schools - Hatcham Free School, Edmund Waller Primary School and Haberdashers’ Hatcham College - alongside several nurseries took action calling for more pedestrian crossings to be installed.

The action comes after a child was “knocked into the air and onto the pavement” by a passing vehicle in May 2021.

The child’s mum said: “Something has to be done so no one goes through what we went through.

“My children are traumatised by it, every day I witness motorists not paying attention to people needing to cross the road.’

A current survey being carried out by campaign group Drakefell and Gellatly United (DAGU) of local residents within the community revealed that 96 per cent of residents feel that the road is “dangerous.”

Further findings from the survey recorded “multiple cases” of near misses and unreported incidents.

Local ward councillors Joan Millbank and Luke Sorba joined parents and children and said: “Parents with their school kids were out in force this morning trying to cross busy Drakefell Road on their way to local schools.

“The event demonstrates that the current traffic island is now not sufficient to ensure the safest crossing to and from Avignon and Pepys Road.”

Lewisham Council has said that it is “currently reviewing” existing pedestrian crossings and looking to increase the number of pedestrian crossings in place throughout Lewisham.

The council further said that a number of measures are currently in place on Drakefell Road and Gellatly Road to “improve pedestrian safety.”

A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said: “We are committed to improving road safety across the borough, with a particular focus on our schools.

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

“We are currently reviewing existing pedestrian crossing arrangements and seeking to increase the number of crossings in place across Lewisham as part of a borough-wide, evidence-led approach to improving pedestrian safety on school routes.

“A number of measures are already in place on Drakefell Road and Gellatly Road to help reduce speeding and improve pedestrian safety on these roads, including speed bumps, traffic islands and width restrictions, which we will keep under review as part of our borough-wide approach.

“Our School Streets programme also aims to improve pedestrian safety by closing roads outside schools to traffic at drop-off and pick-up times, including outside Haberdashers’ Hatcham College.”