A MALVERN man living on a road earmarked for traffic calming measures as part of a Safer Routes to School (SRtS) campaign has labelled it expensive and unnecessary.

Proposals for road safety improvements near local schools dropped through letterboxes this week, ahead of an exhibition at Malvern's Priory Lodge Hall, Avenue Road, on Monday (October 15), from 3.30pm to 8pm.

But Peter Wright, of Redland Road, is not impressed by the suggestions of Worcester-based contractors Halcrow, made on behalf of the county council, for gateways and traffic humps in his road and Cromwell Road, near to Malvern Link Primary School.

He claims there have been no recordable traffic accident in the vicinity in the 20 years he has lived there and suggests they should concentrate instead on the busier Church Road.

Drivers using Redland and Cromwell roads as 'rat-runs' are the root of the problem, says Mr Wright.

"The very clutter of parked cars in our road nullifies the need for gateways and humps, as the effective width of the road is restricted free of charge," he explained.

"However, I do support improved roadside and road surface signage."

Ten Malvern schools, including Somers Park Primary, St James's Primary and The Chase, are involved in the SRtS scheme. Measures being looked at to make journeys to school safer for children and parents and raise driver awareness of nearby schools also include cycle tracks and signal-controlled road crossings.

Monday's exhibition will give residents the chance to put questions and comments to scheme designers before final detailed designs are drawn up.

Residents given details of schemes - Halcrow would not reveal any potential costings - were also given a questionnaire to fill in and return.

Many teachers, pupils and parents have already been surveyed by the county council on problems they encounter journeying to school.