The head of a residents' group at a Prospect housing development has called on Government to build a pedestrian crossing before a child is killed.

Frog Lane Condominium Association chairman Terry Flood yesterday said the crossing was needed across Frog Lane near the Bermuda Housing Corporation homes to protect the residents and schoolchildren.

"Frog Lane's concerned residents and their board have been trying for three years now to get a pedestrian crossing put in near our residences to make it safer for people crossing the street,'' he said.

"We need the crossing from the east side to the west side of Frog Lane because since the road has been developed it has become more dangerous.'' The area now boasts two Government schools, Prospect Primary and CedarBridge Academy, which has created a heavy flow of students in the area during the morning and afternoon.

During the three-year wait for a crossing, Mr. Flood pointed out, there had been three accidents.

"There have already been children knocked down. I, as chairman of this development, represent the concerned residents of the area and I am not about to wait until someone is killed for a pedestrian crossing to be put there.'' Mr. Flood said he had spoken to previous Ministers of Works and Engineering and current Minister Alex Scott about the crossing.

And he disclosed that the proposal had received the backing of Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay and the area's MPs John Barritt and Michael Dunkley.

"I have requested a pedestrian crossing through the proper channels with the support of the Police Commissioner and the area MPs four times,'' he said.

However the request has met resistance.

"We have been told by Works and Engineering engineers that traffic is not heavy enough to warrant a pedestrian crossing,'' Mr. Flood added.

"We reject those comments because we live there and know a bunch of people go across that street every day. Those people who survey it do not live there.

"This is about the safety of children and residents more than anything. I am surprised that it has taken so long for it to be acted on.

"We are requesting again for a fifth time to the Minister of Works and Engineering and the Minister of Public Safety, Paula Cox, to have a crossing put there.'' A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Works yesterday confirmed that the department had investigated Mr. Flood's request to place the crosswalk at Frog Lane near the condominiums and decided there was no need for one there.

She said: "Crosswalks already exist at both ends of Frog Lane.

"In addition, both sides of Frog Lane have sidewalks which school children attending both CedarBridge and Orange Valley Primary Schools and who travel by bus can use, until they reach the crosswalks at the south or north ends of Frog Lane.

"The crosswalk at the south end of Frog Lane is monitored by traffic lights.

The crosswalk at the north end of Frog Lane is located a little ways up the street from the condos and is monitored by a crossing guard to ensure the safety of the younger children at Orange Valley Primary School.

"The Ministry does not intend to install an additional crosswalk which may encourage the children to cross the road while unsupervised.''