Swindon dad calls for safer school roads as person is injured on same road his son died
He is working with Moredon Hub to set up a safe drop-off point
A dad from Swindon who lost his son when he was hit by a car on his way to school is calling for more safe crossings and drop-off locations.
Harry Parker died on November 25, 2022, after a driver without a valid license hit him on Akers Way, outside Nova Hreod Academy where he went to school.
Police have confirmed that another collision happened on the road earlier this week, leaving a pedestrian with “minor injuries”.
Harry’s dad, Adam Parker, said: “Akers Way is a seriously dangerous road. People speed down there, the sun’s in your eyes.
“I lost friends down there in ’91, I’ve now lost my son, and people are still getting injured. Enough is enough, I think”.
According to Wiltshire Police, the person who was injured on Tuesday (25 February), “was taken to hospital as a precaution” but “no arrests have been made”.
'It just doesn't need to happen'
They also clarified that the incident this week did not happen on the same junction where Harry was killed, but further down the road near St. Mary’s Church roundabout.
Mr. Parker is now hoping to make Moredon Sporting Hub, which is located close to Nova Hreod Academy but away from the main road, a safe drop-off and pick-up point for schoolchildren.
“Moredon Hub is a safe walk. They’ve got a pathway that walks right down to the school entrance, so it’s almost a no-brainer. It’s just a little bit of a walk for children, but there’s no traffic”, he explained.
“It’s about that time that something is done. We’ve been saying it and saying it and saying it for the last nearly three years and now something has happened again, and it just doesn’t need to happen”.
As Akers Way is a Swindon road, any direct changes to its use would fall under the responsibility of Swindon Borough Council.
Councillor Chris Watts, cabinet member for transport, said: ““Improving the road safety outside all our schools is a priority for the Council and we are currently spending £128,000 on various safety measures outside 19 schools as part of the latest phase of the School Safe Environment Zone scheme. This scheme finishes this year and we are currently working on a replacement.
“Akers Way has previously been part of this programme and we have installed flashing 20mph signs and changes to the crossings to allow pupils more time to cross the road to get to Nova Hreod Academy. This has had a positive impact on reducing speeds at school drop-off and pick-up times and has been welcomed by the school”.
He also referred to a broken pedestrian traffic light at the junction where Harry was hit.
Mr. Parker claims that the traffic light was broken for over a week, from the 17th until the 25th of February, and even though he submitted a report to the council on the first day, the light was only fixed after he published a Facebook post about it on February 24.
According to councillor Watts, the council was not aware of the issue until the day the traffic light was fixed.
“Around midday on 25 February, our attention was drawn to a Facebook post about a button failure. This related to the Akers Way crossing, and this was rectified by 16:00hrs on the same day. We have no record of this being raised prior to this notification but we did receive several reports subsequent to the Facebook post.
“We understand that some residents have reported on social media that they had raised the incident several days before. I have requested information and been informed that there are no records of the issue being report prior to notification of the Facebook post. I am happy to investigate further if residents would like to supply me with information”.
He also added: “I’m more than happy to meet with Mr Parker to discuss his concerns about road safety along Akers Way.”