ANTICIPATION is growing that a ten-year wait for a vital crossing on a "racetrack" road may soon be over.
Speeds of 52mph, almost double the limit, have been recorded in Whyteleafe Road, Caterham – where hundreds of school pupils cross daily.
A hit-and-run incident there a decade ago when a road crossing officer was knocked down and injured prompted safety calls from parents. Now their wait may finally be over.
Plans for a £220,000 pedestrian crossing, complete with a raised speed table, have gone on show in Caterham's two libraries.
And, all being well, the safety features will be installed in the spring.
Caterham on the Hill Parish Council has already pledged £20,000 towards the crossing.
Council member John Orrick, who is also a Surrey county councillor for Caterham Hill, said: "I'm delighted that this essential scheme is finally inching nearer.
"Hopefully, it should be installed in about March."
The 550 children attending Audley, St Francis and Sunnydown schools all cross the road at the same spot to get to their joint campus.
St Francis' head Patricia Burke said: "We welcome the news and can't wait for the crossing
"It will enable more parents and children to walk to school, and I am sure that residents will also be delighted.
"Some of our parents have campaigned for this for many years, having had frightening near-miss experiences when crossing the road with their children."
Peter Brent, who lives in the road, monitored the 52mph speed in his role as a Community Speedwatch volunteer. He said: "Drivers have increasingly been using Whyteleafe Road, Buxton Lane and Ninehams Road as racetracks."
Mother-of-three Nicola Clark, who collected a 402-name petition from parents last year, said: "It can be absolute bedlam here.
"We get impatient drivers swearing, tooting their horns and even driving the wrong side of the pedestrian refuge in the road."
Audley head teacher Daphne Shields said: "There have been reports of motorists driving on the wrong side of the road, to overtake traffic which was waiting to turn into our cul-de-sac.
"It is a question of time before someone is seriously injured or killed."
The plans are available for inspection until the end of this month at Caterham Hill library in Westway, and at Caterham Valley library in Stafford Road.
