MEMBERS of Mill Chase's school council and the school co-ordinator, Nigel Pittaway, presented the school's travel plan to East Hampshire District Council's north east area community committee last Tuesday with the key objective of improving the ethos of the school. The aims of the travel plan are to address the health and safety concerns of the students who walk to school, ease the congestion on the Mill Chase site and increase the number of students cycling to school. To this end, several options have been laid out, including distribution of responsibilities, prioritisation of work, and also a timescale. This action plan will be sent to Hampshire County Council. Among the things students feel that need improving are the widening of the pavements along Mill Chase Road, particularly along the Mill Chase side; the instalment of a pedestrian crossing point much further down Mill Chase Road, as close to Jubilee Park as possible; speed humps along the road from Mill Chase School down to Jubilee park; the banning of vehicles parking along the grass verge of Mill Chase Road; and the installation of better signage around the school site and along Mill Chase Road to make motorists more aware that they are approaching a school. To increase the number of students travelling by bicycle, the school intends to install a secure, enclosed cycle rack in Mill Chase for use by students who choose to cycle. After their presentation, Dr Helen Walters commented: "As a governor of Weyford Infant School, travel plans have become a mild obsession of mine. "Between the three schools in that particular area, there are up to 1,500 pupils and fortunately it sounds as if we all want the same things, such as wider pavements. We have to place more pressure on Hampshire County Council and the three schools have to work together and ask for similar things." It was resolved that Gwil Williams, transport and development officer at East Hampshire District Council, will speak to the relevant officers at Hampshire County Council and invite the travel plan officer or the person in charge of widening pavements to attend a future north east area community committee meeting.
