Anxious parents are calling on council chiefs to install crossings outside two neighbouring schools before someone is seriously injured or even killed.

An online petition has been set up on Kent County Council’s website asking for zebra crossings outside the entrances of Riverview Junior and Riverview Infant schools in Gravesend.

The two buildings occupy the same site but use different entrances via St Francis Avenue and Marling Way.

Concerns over parking and poor driving by inconsiderate motorists have been raised in the past, with the situation described as far back as 2013 as being “dangerous and absolute bedlam”.

At that time the Messenger also reported some pupils had taken on the role of junior parking officers, only to be verbally abused.

Neither school has a lollipop patrol officer and, according to parent Mark Lindridge, one quit her job after a couple of near misses with passing vehicles.

He and his wife, Tracy, have now signed the e-petition and are urging others to do the same.

Mrs Lindridge said she fears someone could die.

The mum-of-two said: “People are just stupid in the way they park and drive. The cars park on corners and on the paths so you cannot walk by. We have had police community support officers outside the schools stopping people from parking on the yellow lines, but it’s ridiculous and there is going to be an accident.

“People come tearing through and the other day a mum and a child were standing at another crossing in Vigilant Way outside The Boat pub and a bus just went straight through, no stopping.

“We did have a lollipop lady in Marling Way but she didn’t come back in September. Trying to cross is ridiculous. I literally have to hold my kids’ hands and run for it.

“I don’t know who set up the petition but, having signed it, I shared it on Facebook in the hope we get a lot more signatures.

“Personally, I would prefer a crossing with traffic lights, but we need something up there or someone is going to get killed.”

The couple, who live in nearby Vanessa Walk, have a six-year-old son, Aaron, at the infants’, and daughter Emily, 11, at the junior school.

Mrs Lindridge will not let Emily walk to school by herself, and dreads September when she starts secondary school and will want to walk with friends.

Mr Lindridge, 48, said: “The lollipop lady in St Francis Avenue left because there had been a couple of near misses for her and she just thought enough is enough.

“I used to be a governor at the infants’ and a few people asked me why there were no more lollipop ladies, but it’s not down to the school, it’s KCC.”

The petition, which started earlier this month, supports Mrs Lindridge’s fears by stating crossings are needed “for safety purposes” as both entrances to the schools are “currently hazardous and unmanned”.

All signatures must be added by May 31. A total of at least 1,000 should result in a debate, likely to be at a meeting of Gravesham’s joint transportation board, which includes members of the borough and county councils.

A petition which amasses between 2,500 and 9,999 signatures would be debated by the appropriate KCC cabinet committee, and 10,000-plus signatures would trigger a full county council discussion.

A school newsletter sent to parents in November last year said there had been an increasing number of complaints from both pedestrians and residents about the dangerous driving of parents and carers on the school run.

It stated it had been unable to recruit any lollipop attendants but had written to the highways department at the county council.

Parents were also asked to drive with “care and consideration”.

Head of school at Riverview Juniors Mrs Pam Wenban said: “We appreciate and share the concerns of the parents about this issue. The safety of our pupils is always a priority and we hope a solution can be found to the current situation, which is occasionally putting children in serious danger.”

KCC said it was happy to consider all requests as long as residents went through the required steps.

These include checking the crash history of the area at www.crashmap.co.uk to see if any crashes in the past three years have resulted in personal injury.

The Messenger found 57 results for the whole of Riverview Park, of which nine occurred in the immediate vicinity of the two schools.

All incidents were recorded as “slight” and involved nine casualties, dating back to 2002.
However, according to the figures, none occurred after 2012.

KCC also advises involvement of local representatives, such as ward councillors.

A spokesman said: “We have to make tough decisions on where to improve traffic and road safety.

“This means we have to say no, more than we would like, especially if the request won’t reduce casualties.

“We look at the sites most in need of improvement first, which have got the support of the whole community.

“Improvements we make to road layouts include junction improvements; traffic calming, such as 20mph zones and speed humps; speed limit changes; new signs and lines; bus stop improvements; new cycle paths; new footpaths; and pedestrian and zebra crossings.”

To sign the petition, go to bit.ly/1M94Cts