Three-mile Barnard Castle walk to school route branded 'ridiculous'

A NEW school walking route that sees four and five-year-olds crossing the busy A67 four times and trekking three miles each day has been branded  “ridiculous”.
The new route from Startforth Park to Montalbo Primary School, in Barnard Castle, was devised after children were moved there following the closure of Startforth Morritt School last year.
The new route sees children walk more than 1.5 miles twice a day, crossing busy roads several times and climbing up steep inclines. A test shows that an adult man takes about half an hour to walk the 1.5-mile route, which includes 3,219 steps with nine floors of climbing.
Several parents say the route is too dangerous and arduous for small children.
People became aware of the route after a public meeting with Durham County Council’s chief executive Terry Collins last month when parents questioned how they would get their children to the school.
Mum Kelly Blissett received the walking route assessment last week.
She said: “For starters, when we were kids crossing the Bowes road (A67) there was always a lollipop lady.”
No provision has been made for crossing patrols in the assessment. Durham County Council says they are not necessary because there are sufficient gaps in the traffic to allow people to cross safely.
Ms Blissett has also complained that many young parents have more than one child and it would be difficult for them to walk their child while managing a toddler in a pushchair. They would struggle, in particular, to get up The Bank.
The official route sees parents and their children cross the A67 at Startforth Park, walking down to Flaxfield. They again cross the A67 to get to the County Bridge, where they follow Bridgegate, up the Bank, through the centre of Barnard Castle and on to Flatts Road. The route then follows Vere Road, Raby Avenue, Cecil Road, Wellington Road and Fife Road before arriving at the school.
Ms Blissett said: “They only have little legs – it is going to take them ages to walk all the way.”
She added that the journey is even more difficult to negotiate if there is ice on the footpaths.
Her father, Barnard Castle mayor and former Startforth Park School governor, John Blissett, was equally scathing.
He said: “It is putting a lot on a young four or five year old. To be honest it is ridiculous really.
“It is a desktop job which means they haven’t actually walked the route.”
Critics say it doesn’t take account of 162 homes approved near Deerbolt Prison and the 37 houses already under construction at Bowes Gardens, in Startforth.
However, the council says the route was devised in the correct manner.
Dave Wafer, strategic traffic manager, said it was walked on June 7 last year.
He added: “The route crosses the A67 in two locations and in both instances on-site surveys showed that there were sufficient gaps in the traffic to allow parents and children to cross safely.
“The assessment is based on nationally-agreed guidelines and is used to determine if free transport should be provided while taking into account the safety issues that would be encountered on the route. Such an assessment does not consider short term weather issues which could be experienced by any parent and child walking to school.”