WORRIED residents claim it is only a matter of time before someone is killed on a busy Welwyn Garden City road unless safety measures are introduced soon.

That is the view of a group of people living in and around Valley Road who are concerned at the high levels of speeding traffic going up and down the road.

More than a 130 residents have now signed a petition calling on the district and county council to introduce traffic calming measures before someone is killed or seriously injured.

Presenting the petition to a meeting of the highways joint members panel on Monday night, Caroline Greasby, of nearby High Oaks Road said: "As a mother of three children I have to play Russian roulette every morning to find a gap in the traffic to cross Valley Road on the way to Applecroft School.

"There is a constant stream of traffic from 8.30am to 9.30am with many cars exceeding the speed limit.

"I find that it is safer for my family, for me to drive the three minutes to school than it is for us to walk, due to the hazards of crossing Valley Road. And yet, it is the policy of both the government and the county council to reduce the number of children being driven to school.

"There is a clear mis-match between these two statements which can only be resolved by improving road safety on Valley Road.

"If nothing is done, we believe it is only a matter of time before there is a fatality."

The campaign has received the full support from Vicki Parsey, headteacher at Applecroft JMI School and district councillor Dennis Lewis. Councillor Lewis added: "I live in Valley Road so get to see first hand and it can be horrendous. It's not just the density, but the speed.

"It's a long road and needs some purposeful action."

The residents say Valley Road is the only main thoroughfare into the town centre which has no provision for safe crossing for pedestrians. Parkway, Stanborough Road, Broadwater Road, Digswell Road all currently have pedestrian crossings and the residents are now calling for similar proposals to be introduced in Valley Road.

Other measures they wish to be considered are the provision of a lollypop lady and a reduction of the speed limit to lOmph at peak times.

Members of the committee agreed to look into the complaint and will report back their findings at the next meeting in October.