SCOTS parents have written a letter to the City of Edinburgh Council in the hopes of persuading them to improve road safety.
Parent councils from 53 primary and secondary schools wrote to the council yesterday in the hopes of improving road safety for their kids.
The letter was also sent to MSPs amid fears that the capital’s road safety measures are dangerously outdated.
According to the letter there is a 25-year backlog of road safety measures in Edinburgh, this information was gathered via a freedom of information (FOI) request following the death of a child cyclist.
Thomas Wong, aged just 11, died after a collision with the driver of a bin lorry on Whitehouse Road last March.
The FOI shows that as of June 2024, there are 96 red flag sites on The City of Edinburgh Council’s speed reduction list.
Only 19 roads in the capital have improved since last year with parents guessing it would take 25 years for the city council to act on all the road issues on the list.
Parents have demanded that there must be a focus on road safety, asking for increased spending amid fears for their children’s wellbeing.
Kim Pratt, vice chair of the Davidson’s Mains Primary School Parent Council, said: “A 25-year backlog in speed reduction measures is condemning every child in Edinburgh to navigating unsafe roads for the rest of their school days.
“No child should be risking their life when traveling to school and it’s unacceptable that safety recommendations are being ignored.
“We do understand that the council is under financial pressure but getting children to school safely must be a priority.
“The call from parent councils from across Edinburgh shows that this is a systemic problem.
“Politicians in Edinburgh have the power to protect our children by increasing road safety funding and by making road safety around schools a priority in all future road developments.”
