PARENTS of children at Alton Infant School are being urged to take extra care when using the pelican crossing outside the school on Normandy Street after three people were hit by cars in less than a week.

While the incidents were not serious, the common contributory factor appeared to be the abnormally bright glare of low winter sunlight which may have blinded drivers to the colour of the pelican lights and to people on the crossing.

Headteacher Jayne Broach confirmed that the first incident had occurred on November 25, when a mum was crossing the road to pick up her young son from school. She was clipped by a car and fell backward.

While the victim was unhurt, Mrs Broach contacted both the police and Hampshire Highways.

It was thought the driver, who had been driving very slowly, had been blinded by the low afternoon sun.

Mrs Broach has been impressed by the swift response to the incident and to the subsequent collision which occurred last Thursday, December 1, when two grandparents were hit by a slow-moving vehicle while negotiating the crossing. They were both unhurt and went on to pick up their grandchildren from school.

Again, low sunlight appeared to have played a major part in the accident.

A hot topic of conversation on social media, after each of the incidents Mrs Broach sent text messages to parents to alert them to take care while using the pelican crossing, especially during bright sunlight.

According to Mrs Broach, Hampshire Highways and the police have been out on site watching and observing the lights, the traffic negotiating the crossing, and users of the crossing. At one point, while monitoring the crossing in the afternoon sun, it became clear that drivers could not see a police officer in a high-visibility jacket standing beside the crossing. Many were driving with screen visors down and some with hands across their eyes.

While Mrs Broach believes that these were “freaky” weather conditions that may not be seen again for some time, she was impressed by the obvious determination of all the agencies and councillors involved to get the root of the problem and to implement a swift solution.

Dean Phillips, a parent governor and councillor on East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) with responsibility for Alton, is determined to address and rectify the problem as quickly as possible.

It is almost two years to the day that Mr Phillips lost his own father after he was hit by a car while crossing a busy road in nearby Odiham, and road safety for him is a “top priority”.

Perhaps by coincidence, the Normandy Street pelican crossing has only recently been upgraded as a key part of Hampshire County Council’s Eastern Gateway project – designed “to provide a better link for walkers and cyclists between the town (of Alton) and the station”. Work began on the project at the beginning of November to provide wider pavements, textured surfaces and traffic-calming measures, which have included upgraded crossing points, together with the introduction of a 20mph speed limit.

While the speed limit signs are yet to be put up on the stretch of Normandy Street between Wilsom Road and the Drayman’s Way roundabout, the crossing in front of the school has been raised and widened.

While accepting that low sunlight could have been a contributory factor in these incidents, Mr Phillips is keen that the multi-agency investigation should look at all aspects, including construction, positioning of lights and impact of sunlight, and solutions found to ensure that the crossing is made as safe as possible for use in all conditions.

He has already met a contractor on the site and was on Wednesday, as the Herald went to press, due (with Andrew Joy) to meet with Hampshire County Council’s road safety team to discuss the way forward.

As Alton’s county representative, Mr Joy confirmed that he too was on the case and had alerted the county council’s traffic systems team who had made a preliminary assessment earlier in the week.

He stressed: “The safety of pedestrians, and motorists, is of paramount importance. We need to resolve this problem with the utmost urgency. There are major highway improvements in progress between Alton Station and the town centre and improving public safety is at the heart of the changes.”