A CHARITY helping adults with additional needs is urgently calling for road safety measures to help its vulnerable users cross a busy main road.

Dawlish Gardens Trust has launched a petition asking for support for its bid to install a refuge along the busy A379.

So far, more than 200 people have signed the online petition at change.org

Many individuals who work and train at the trust use

public transport to get to and from the gardens each day.

Most travel by bus as the stops are conveniently placed either side of the 40mph carriage way, adjacent to the Port Road site, just off Exeter Road on the A379, on the busy approach into Dawlish.

But many if those attending the trust have sensory, hearing and visual impairments, limited mobility and delayed processing.

A trust spokesman said there are ‘just a few of the challenges that many of our service users encounter’.

They continued: ‘Crossing a 40mph very busy road with no safety measures in place is causing us great concern.

‘Worryingly, we have now had to start to record any struggles, near misses and calls for assistance, so that we have a log of the difficulties that our service users are experiencing.

‘We do not want a serious ‘incident’, with potentially fatal consequences, to happen before any action is taken.’

The trust has raised its concerns with Devon County Council’s highways department asking for urgent attention.

But the response was that a road crossing is costly and unless there have been some recorded ‘vehicle vs pedestrian’ accidents in the area, then there is not any consideration at this stage.

Now the trust is appealing for public support to sign the petition to appeal for a crossing to be reviewed and re-considered.

The petition states: ‘We understand that reducing a speed limit, or inserting a full road crossing is unlikely so we plan to request the following.

‘Apply for a ‘pedestrian refuge island’ to be installed in the centre of the two-way carriage way which would give our attendees time to navigate one direction of traffic, pause, then navigate across the other direction of traffic.

‘Installation of a solar charged ‘vehicle activated’ sign to remind drivers of the speed limit.’

MP Martin Wrigley and County Councillor Rosie Dawson have both visited the site and listened to the concerns.

Trust bosses have also asked a Road Safety Officer from Devon and Cornwall Police to visit and give an independent assessment of the highway crossing.

Dawlish Gardens Trust has been helping people with additional needs for more than 30 years and is now a well-respected provider offering supervised working opportunities on the site to more than 145 vulnerable adults from across Devon.

Opportunities include horticulture, ground maintenance, animal care, woodwork, arts, crafting and cooking.

In addition to onsite activities, the trust provides regular services within the local community, offering working parties to support local projects.

To sign the petition to https://chng.it/CXy6G7fk2J