Parents become lollipop ladies at 'dangerous' Clydebank road

In a bid to "keep children safe", a team of parents have been donning high-vis vests and standing at a Clydebank crossing after two lollipop ladies were removed from their role during the summer holidays.

Pupils on their way to Our Lady of Loretto Primary were being guided across the busy dual carriageway, Dumbarton Road, which has been described as 'chaos'.

Megan and Caryolnn have been helping pupils cross the road to school after council cuts. (Image: Newsquest) Megan Sawyers, one parent and stand-in lollipop lady, says the junction has a series of issues which make it dangerous to youngsters.

She said: "I myself and at least three other people that I know remember fatalities that have happened on this road.

"To me, it's not a risk worth taking to remove the lollipop ladies because while they have been here, as far as I know, there hasn't been an accident.

"I think it would be interesting to know how much money they're saving because they were only working half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon.

"There must be other places within the budget that they could trim the fat rather than this."

Megan and the parent council, who have devised a rota for their volunteers to stand on the road, say they are concerned about the faded road marking and the timing of the lights.

The yellow road markings on the box junction are faded. (Image: Newsquest) We previously reported how parents had raised significant concerns with the junction, which they say is prone to accidents due to a lack of road lining and badly timed lights.

Last month, a bus and a BMW collided at the junction, causing damage to both vehicles. The junction also has a damaged fence on one corner of the box from a previous collision.

(Image: Supplied) Obi Ojboju, says he felt more secure knowing the lollipop ladies were there. (Image: Newsquest) One parent, Obi Ojboju, says he felt "peace" knowing there were lollipop ladies at the junction.

He said: "Seeing the lollipop ladies that were here before gave me a sense of peace and security and safety for the kids.

"Some kids just zoom past and run down the road, and some people drive recklessly.

"It is going to be chaos because not every parent actually comes down to take their kids to school."

Stephanie McGeoch, from the parent council, says the volunteers could only run the crossing patrols for one week, saying they were worried West Dunbartonshire Council would rely on their presence.

She said: "It's great that they're doing it, but there's just not enough of them to do it.

"It’s not sustainable; we have tried to do it for longer, but we can’t."

After the Clydebank Post contacted the council, they announced they would be repainting the lines and reviewing the timings of the junction.

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “The roads service will review the timing of the traffic lights and refresh the box junction to further strengthen safety at the site.

“In addition, each school has a travel plan and works with parents, pupils and the wider school community to identify safe routes to school.”