A St Albans teacher and parent has launched a petition calling on authorities to implement new pedestrian and cycling crossings on a busy road, after seeing several "horrendous" near misses on the school run.

Damian Gaskin, a former teacher at Townsend Church of England School, has seen first hand the "chaos" on Green Lane and Francis Avenue at 8am every morning.

As a parent at the school, he has launched a petition which has amassed more than 250 signatures in just a few days.

The petition calls on the district and county councils to create "safe and secure" crossings to prevent somebody being killed.

Damian says he's not waiting for a tragedy to occur and has taken matters into his own hands after being approached by a bus on the pavement while walking with his nine-year-old daughter.

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He said: "These roads are critical pathways for children walking to multiple local schools, as well as being a part of the St Albans Cycle Route. Our community shouldn't have to fear for their lives while commuting on foot or by cycle.

"On numerous occasions, I have seen my students have near-miss accidents. I have seen terrified parents snatching their children out of the way of pavement mounting cars."

Earlier this month he launched a 'bike bus' group, which sees parents and children cycle to school together with the aim of promoting road safety.

Despite this, the roads continue to be "an absolute horror show" during the school run.

Damian said: "Last Friday (September 20), the bike bus was waiting for a break in traffic when a full-sized coach tried to turn from Green Lane into High Oaks and almost swung over to the bike bus side of the road, which would have effectively crushed three adults and five children."

The petition appeals to authorities to take action to "transform Green Lane and Francis Avenue into safe, efficient roads that our community deserves."

It continues: "Let's prevent accidents, protect our children, and let's make our roads a safe place for everyone."

The petition can be viewed and signed at https://www.change.org/p/implement-safe-pedestrian-and-cyclist-crossings-on-green-lane-and-francis-ave-in-new-greens-st-albans.