Schoolgirl’s plea for safer streets gets results: New crossing opens in Heaton Moor

A brand-new pedestrian crossing in Heaton Moor has been opened following a heartfelt letter from a 10-year-old girl asking for a safer way to walk to school.

Hannah, 10, wrote a letter late last year asking for a crossing on Heaton Moor so she can walk to school safely on her own when she enters Year 6 in September.

The letter, initially sent to Stockport MP Nav Mishra, was forwarded to the council’s Highways team, and Cllr Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services, responded with some good news – work would start on the crossing in the same place highlighted by Hannah in early 2025.

Work has been ongoing since, with the crossing completed last month.

In her response to Hannah’s letter, Cllr Baynham invited the Year 5 student to come down and turn the crossing on.

Hannah and members of St Thomas Primary’s Eco Committee popped out during their lunchtime break this week and carried out the important duty.

Hannah said: “I sent a letter in asking about a crossing and explaining the reasons why I wanted it because normally we have to go to the crossing all the way down near Shaw Road and then it’ll make me late for school.

“But with these new lights it’s really easy to cross and I’ll be using this every day now.”

Cllr Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services at Stockport Council, said: “While plans for the crossing were already in motion as part of the council’s wider commitment to sustainable travel, Hannah’s letter reinforced just how important the improvements would be for local families.

“Her passion for road safety and sustainable travel brought real attention to the need for safer walking routes – and she was the perfect person to help mark the completion of the project.

“We know all about the hard work that the team at St Thomas’ are doing to encourage active travel on a daily basis, including their work in setting up and maintaining a School Street.

“We’re working hard to create green, more inclusive and safer neighbourhoods and one way to do this is improving our sustainable travel routes across the borough, so we can help everyone make better travel choices on a day-to-day basis.”

Chris Silk, deputy head at St Thomas’ in the Heatons, said: “It was an honour to be invited to 'launch' the new pedestrian crossing on Heaton Moor Road. It will make a massive difference to our school community by encouraging yet more active travel to our school. As a school, we have worked hard to reduce our impact on the environment and to educate our pupils about the benefits of active travel. Infrastructure like this crossing really supports these messages.

“I'm very proud of Hannah for taking the initiative to write to ask for this crossing as part of her Young Leaders Award. One of the aims of the award is to 'empower pupils to serve their communities' and Hannah demonstrated this by being so proactive.”

The crossing has been delivered by Stockport Council in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester, with funding from the Active Travel Fund (ATF4e), and is part of the wider Greater Manchester Crossings and Junction Programme.

Delivering high-quality crossings and junction upgrades to make roads safer is key to Greater Manchester’s plans to build the UK’s largest walking, wheeling and cycling network as part of an integrated Bee Network.

For more information visit our sustainable travel hub.