RESIDENTS and the police are to be consulted about plans to turn a Crewe road into a safer route to school.

Dane Bank Avenue is believed to be unique in Cheshire because it has four educational establishments from nursery up to South Cheshire College.

A range of initiatives have been planned for the next few months to make the road safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

These include making Dane Bank Avenue and surrounding roads a 20mph zone operating 24 hours a day.

The other roads in the zone would include Rosehill Road, Dappleheath Road, Christchurch Avenue, Woodside Avenue and Thirlmere Road.

Dane Bank Avenue could be made into a no-parking area at peak times during weekdays and dedicated cycle lanes are a possibility.

Other ideas are being considered for the future including the extension of school parking in certain cases.

The plans were drawn up after consultation with the local schools and police and each school carried out its own transportation survey.

The main issues in the surveys were congestion at school times, inappropriate parking, a lack of pedestrian and cycle ways and a desire to walk to school.

Councillors discussed the proposals at the joint highways and transportation committee on Monday and agreed that consultation should be carried out with local people and the emergency services.

"We have looked very carefully at this problem," said county councillor Jeff Minshall.

"These proposals are intended to create an environment in which parents and children will feel encouraged to use their cars less for the journey to school."

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