Muswell Hill and Rhodes Avenue Primary school pupils will be a lot safer when they return to school in September when a £75,000 road-calming plan around the schools is implemented in August. The decision comes after months of pressure from local residents and Lib Dem councillors.

The £75,000 from Transport for London (TfL) will be spent on road calming measures in two speeding black-spots, Dukes Avenue and Alexandra Park Road and is the result of work done since March by the focus group made up of local residents and Alexandra councillor, Susan Oatway (Lib Dem).

Over the last few months Council traffic engineers have worked closely with the focus group. The engineers have submitted amended costed plans and the group now has to make a decision on the final proposals – given that £75,000 is not enough to do everything they want. Residents associations therefore have until the end of this month to give the council their final views on the amended proposals.

Lib Dem councillor Susan Oatway is pleased with the progress that has been made in the last few months and is grateful for the work of local residents and council officers in bringing this action about. However she acknowledges that the Council must do more to improve safety around schools in the borough:

“The residents and officers have worked very well together. I am very pleased with how well the plans have progressed and I am hopeful that by September we will have made considerable progress in dealing with the speeding problem in these two roads.

“The Lib Dem aim is to ensure safe routes around all schools in the borough and we will continue to press the Council to work towards this as well as pushing for further road calming measures around Alexandra ward.”