HIGHWAYS chiefs are set to carry out surveys on a busy Ferndown road amid safety concerns for children walking to school and elderly pedestrians.

More than 200 people have signed a petition calling for improvements in Church Road, particularly outside the village hall.

The campaign was spearheaded by Ferndown Local Action Group which collected names from parents of children at the three schools off Church Road and users of the hall.

A spokeswoman said: "Church Road is a very busy road. It's also used instead of Victoria Road to avoid the Penny Hill crossroads.

"The lollipop lady is only there in the mornings and afternoons during term time so it is very dangerous outside of those hours, especially for the senior citizens trying to get across to the village hall."

Ferndown Town Council has also written to Dorset County Council urging them to take action.

Town council spokeswoman Krystina Bradbury said: "We have put in requests over a number of years but without success. There needs to be a proper traffic calming scheme along that road rather than a bit here and a bit there.

"The visibility for motorists getting onto Church Road is bad and it's chaos with all the parking."

Team leader for road safety at Dorset County Council Robert Smith said the concerns were being investigated.

"Now the children have returned to school we will be carrying out some surveys along Church Road to find out at which points the pupils are crossing the road.

"Our Safer Routes for School group will meet to decide if a scheme can be drawn up."

First published: Sept 6