Extra school traffic will gridlock St Martin's roads
FOLLOWING the article 'Parents want one-way system trialled at St Martin's School' (13 July). As a parent of two children who attended (by the time this is published) the former community school in St Andrew's and who, in September, will be attending St Martin's Primary School along with many other deposed children in the name of 'better educational outcomes', or in other words, saving a wee bit of cash, I wholeheartedly agree that something must be done in the road system around Route de Coutures, Burnt Lane and La Grande Rue to facilitate the safe drop off and pick up of primary school children. It's already an extremely difficult location for a school of its current size and the roads will only get gridlocked and more dangerous when all these extra children attend the school this September.
If Environment don't do something radical by the end of this summer, then may I suggest that our Education Minister and the South-East's duly elected representative (until 2016), upon leaving his home in the mornings on his way through the lanes in St Martin's to attend States meetings in St Peter Port, please avoid driving along La Grande Rue and instead turn right at the end of Old Mill Road into Rue des Camps and follow Route de Sausmarez into Town, or he'll be late. Either that or he must buy a pushang, or take the bus. Good luck with the latter getting you there on time though.
In saying this, I would like to make it clear that I have no problem whatsoever with my children attending St Martin's Primary. It's a great school, with an extremely good reputation and staff and one that, in time, my children will hopefully learn to love as much as they have done St Andrew's and its wonderful teaching staff. I've no doubt that the teachers and staff at St Martin's will continue where St Andrew's staff left off in assisting my children in attaining the level of education that both my wife and I aspire for them to achieve, even considering that the classes will be crammed full to a maximum capacity of 28 children, a capacity, lest we forget, that is much higher than the UK and many other educationally successful OECD countries.
Our main problem is going to be getting them to school and back as two working parents. Yes, we can put them on the bus, but that means starting the day 45 minutes earlier, time that could be better spent sleeping and regenerating, having an extra bowl of fibre for breakfast and walking to school – and yes, I am referring to the children, not me.
Instead our children will be getting up much earlier and waiting around in a car park at 8am for a diesel spewing bus journey to school that may take in excess of 30 minutes. Not so bad in the summer, sure, but I can assure you, they will not be looking forward to waiting around in a car park at 8am in the cold, dark, winter mornings, a car park that looks directly upon the lane of their former fantastic community-led primary school and the memories that will bring, each and every day.
SIMON BOUGOURD,
St Andrew's.
