I cannot corroborate the comment left here yesterday that a van hit two children at the Anchor pelican crossing while they were returning home last week from Ysgol Pen Barras. Perhaps later today we shall see, via the Free Press. It seems the van went through a red light. I trust the pupils are OK. I suppose had they not been, or had there been highly serious consequences, we'd've heard. Our thoughts are nevertheless with the children & their parents.
It's a natural reaction to blame someone. The commenter turns to the fact that there are two large primaries in one location, on nearby Mold Road.
Actually, neither school is particularly large (between them, Ysgolion Stryd y Rhos a Phen Barras barely hold 400 pupils and, in Pen Barras' case, a proportion comes not from Rhuthun but from villages).
Yes, the site they occupy often makes dropping pupils off difficult and there may be issues with pavement space, but is this purely the reason for an incident some distance from the school? Surely not. If you need to look for blame, it shouldn't be with the schools.
I would nevertheless speculate that the schools feels that having two of them in such a space is less than ideal. There's no other reason why land at Glasdir should be safeguarded for primary education. There was talk of Ysgol Pen Barras moving out there but that appears to be just that, talk. My guess would be that the development of land at Glasdir to the north of the housing complex for light industrial use would've helped fund such a school. In the current climate, that must be nothing other than a dream.
Moving Ysgol Pen Barras north westwards might've given the school a new building and allowed Rhos Street more space. Buildings may help but they don't make the school, only the head and teaching staff can do that. In this department, Pen Barras is better than average and the best in Rhuthun, though Rhos Street is snapping at its heels.
No matter the location—Mold Road or Glasdir—there are consequences. At Glasdir, most parents would feel that they should take their children to school by car. Doesn't this increase the danger for those who decide to walk? Doesn't this make the overall environment more dangerous, not less? Isn't being driven around potentially more likely to cause or be in an accident? And what might this do for an older child's independence? The good thing about the current location is its relative proximity to where people actually live.
The question no one has asked is whether the pelican crossing is in the right place. After all, it's on a corner. But it's exactly where people wish to cross so, for me, it's ideal. I was perfectly content with it as a zebra. At least then you didn't need to await a green man. But it had its upgrading about 15 years ago following the Birchalls championing the cause for what they felt was a safer crossing. Have there been any other (major) incidents in that time? Not aware of any.
Nearby traffic speeds at school times are as nothing to those on the Northern Relief Road, at Glasdir. Does anyone there actually stick to the speed limit? (Most do 40 mph or more. It's 30, BTW).
It's a natural reaction to blame someone. The commenter turns to the fact that there are two large primaries in one location, on nearby Mold Road.Actually, neither school is particularly large (between them, Ysgolion Stryd y Rhos a Phen Barras barely hold 400 pupils and, in Pen Barras' case, a proportion comes not from Rhuthun but from villages).
Yes, the site they occupy often makes dropping pupils off difficult and there may be issues with pavement space, but is this purely the reason for an incident some distance from the school? Surely not. If you need to look for blame, it shouldn't be with the schools.
I would nevertheless speculate that the schools feels that having two of them in such a space is less than ideal. There's no other reason why land at Glasdir should be safeguarded for primary education. There was talk of Ysgol Pen Barras moving out there but that appears to be just that, talk. My guess would be that the development of land at Glasdir to the north of the housing complex for light industrial use would've helped fund such a school. In the current climate, that must be nothing other than a dream.
Moving Ysgol Pen Barras north westwards might've given the school a new building and allowed Rhos Street more space. Buildings may help but they don't make the school, only the head and teaching staff can do that. In this department, Pen Barras is better than average and the best in Rhuthun, though Rhos Street is snapping at its heels.
No matter the location—Mold Road or Glasdir—there are consequences. At Glasdir, most parents would feel that they should take their children to school by car. Doesn't this increase the danger for those who decide to walk? Doesn't this make the overall environment more dangerous, not less? Isn't being driven around potentially more likely to cause or be in an accident? And what might this do for an older child's independence? The good thing about the current location is its relative proximity to where people actually live.
The question no one has asked is whether the pelican crossing is in the right place. After all, it's on a corner. But it's exactly where people wish to cross so, for me, it's ideal. I was perfectly content with it as a zebra. At least then you didn't need to await a green man. But it had its upgrading about 15 years ago following the Birchalls championing the cause for what they felt was a safer crossing. Have there been any other (major) incidents in that time? Not aware of any.
Nearby traffic speeds at school times are as nothing to those on the Northern Relief Road, at Glasdir. Does anyone there actually stick to the speed limit? (Most do 40 mph or more. It's 30, BTW).