THE subject of a safe crossing by Booths in Kirkby Lonsdale (Letters, March 28, ‘Town needs more zebras’), for schoolchildren, residents and visitors has been around for a while.

As county councillor for Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale I allocated money from my member’s highways budget back in May 2017 for a study of a safe crossing at this point, pre-dating by some margin any petition.

Since that time Kirkby Lonsdale Town Council has pledged £10K to the crossing and I have been able to secure several other contributions, which bring us tantalisingly close to the £30K that is needed to install a zebra crossing at this point.

We have had setbacks along the way with some applications for grants being refused, but progress is continuing on various fronts and we hope to deliver the crossing in the next financial year.

I am passionate about encouraging children to walk safely to school and together with the town council fought hard and successfully to create a safe footpath from Booths car park across Masters Grange public open space to Queen Elizabeth School, a footpath which is used by hundreds of pupils every day.

It is a shame that with such a good, safe walking alternative in place, some parents still insist on driving their cars along Biggins Road to drop their children right by the school.

Biggins Road is a narrow, no through road used by hundreds of pupils walking to school. It would be safer if ALL parents driving pupils to school dropped their children in Booths to walk the final five minutes to Queen Elizabeth School.

Working with the town council I will continue to seek ways to make Kirkby Lonsdale ever safer for pedestrians. It is an attractive, compact place and nowhere in town is more than a 10-minute walk from its shops and cafes.

In considering the future of the town we should always put the safety of pedestrians as our top priority.

Nick Cotton

Kirkby Lonsdale town councillor

Cumbria county councillor for Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale