Uncertainty for Capital lollipop men and women as council announce service review

Edinburgh's school lollipop men and women are facing fresh uncertainty after the council announced the first review of the service in 20 years.

Lollipop man David Parton.

DOWNLOAD THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY

Cameras will be placed at guided crossings during morning rush-hour this month so the council can monitor traffic and the number of people using each site.

The city appointed a £62,000 transport troubleshooter in March after dropping initial plans to axe 75 lunchtime patrols following a public backlash.

The council’s 157 lollipop men and women are paid less than £100 a week.

City transport leader Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “This is the first time the council has done a proper evaluation of its school crossing patrol sites since it took on management of the service from the police 20 years ago.

“There’s bound to have been a lot of changes over the past two decades in terms of transport patterns, new housing developments and so on.

“Children’s safety is absolutely paramount and this review work will give us a clear picture of which locations would most benefit from having a school crossing patrol.

“Our school crossing guides perform an excellent and highly valued service to communities across Edinburgh. We’ll be able to use this up to date information to help ensure we match our staff to the most appropriate locations and keep children safe as they travel to school.”