CAMPAIGNERS hope their calls for a pedestrian crossing on a busy road will be third time lucky.
They have been trying to get Transport for London to put a crossing on the A232 – Croydon Road – for about six years.
And since a 13-year-old girl was hit near the junction with Hartfield Crescent, West Wickham, in the summer they feel it is needed more than ever.
Wickham Common Residents Association chairwoman Sam Wheatcroft said: “We fear there might be a fatality on that road.
“We have a petition with 500 signatures on it and it will be sent to TfL in the next few days.
“There are no recorded fatalities but there have been plenty of vehicle accidents at the junction, particularly involving motorcyclists over the years and we have been asking for a reduction in the speed limit.”
She added: “I was quite cross when I read TfL was telling West Wickham traders they could not have the Christmas lights on their lampposts when a mile up the road they weren’t interested in our road safety.
“We are determined this time to get the crossing.”
And in a letter published in the News Shopper last month Molly Cullinan, the girl who was hit by the car in the summer, said: “Looking back, thinking of it every day is horrible.
“I started screaming while my friend stood on the side of the road staring at me, looking like a ghost.
“As I got into the ambulance, I saw the tears running down my mum’s face when stepping into the ambulance shaking with fear.
“In my eyes it’s simple – just put a crossing there.
“If the driver had been going 40mph I would be dead.”
A TfL spokesman said: "TfL has previously looked at the possibility of installing a pedestrian crossing along A232 Croydon Road in West Wickham.
"However, in order to safely create a crossing at this location, additional land would need to be acquired from Hayes Common and West Wickham Common.
"We continue to give this issue full consideration in conjunction with the LB Bromley and the City of London, who are responsible for the Commons, to see whether a proposal could be feasible in the future.”
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