Fresh Calls for School Crossing Improvement

Friday June 21, 2024

Published by The Border Watch by Charlotte Varcoe

 

ROAD safety around school areas are of high concerns for those across the Mount Gambier/ Berrin region.

Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell and Member for Barker Tony Pasin have both expressed concerns about multiple school crossings recently sparking fresh calls for more funds.

Mr Bell questioned whether schools across the region would have their share in the recently announced $80.1m for road safety.

About half of that funding is expected to be allocated to school crossings and signage.

Mr Bell noted there were two schools in the Mount Gambier/Berrin electorate with concerns around student safety in travelling to school - Suttontown Primary School and Allendale East Area School.

Allendale East Area School governing council chair Rodney Virgo said speed during school time was of a big concern for those in the school's community.

"If we had a way of mechanically slowing people down to a reasonable speed such as rumble strips or speed humps that would be great," Mr Virgo said.

"The biggest danger is the primary and kindergarten students as they are only a few feet high and there are safety fences and barriers but some of these students are actually shorter than the fence." He said drivers who had been working a full day, woken up early or may be driving into the sunlight could not distinguish students only a few feet high behind a fence.

"This has been an issue for at least five or six years, we have had talks about a few different things to try and solve it," Mr Rodney said.

"Over time local officers have come down and done radar detections to make locals aware of it but it is not just locals, it is also the tourists because we have a lot of people coming through who might not be aware of how busy the school is." Mr Virgo said he would like to have mechanisms installed such as speed humps or bumper strips or even extend the school crossing zone to prevent people from "coasting through".

"There are a couple of ways and I believe someone would be able to design something which is more beneficial or present a few things that could be put on the table," he said.

"This is a constant thing throughout Allendale because it is a 50km per hour zone and it is something that needs to be looked at and we are not the only school in the region either." Mr Bell said these issues had been ongoing for a long time and the issues between the two schools were very different.

"The issue we have with Suttontown Primary School is it is not a state government road but it is a state government school so there is a level of responsibility," Mr Bell said.

"I have met with the principals from both schools and they are two different schools with two different solutions needed." He said Allendale East Area School was about slowing vehicles down to the speed limit while Suttontown Primary School did not have accurate off-street parking and no physical crossing.

In response to Mr Bell's question in Parliament, Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services Dan Cregan said the government was "committed to ensuring the safety of children" both in and around schools.

"It is for the reason that a number of programs have been announced or are already on foot," Mr Cregan said.

"There is a particular and close focus on pedestrian-activated crossings and also a focus on ensuring there is more enforcement and scrutiny around the movement of vehicles around schools, particularly on arterial roads." Mr Pasin said he visited Suttontown Primary School earlier this month and observed a "range of serious road safety issues" for both children and parents accessing the school.

He noted there were no designated bus area for students, 12 marked off street carparks outside of the school, no children's crossing and not enough staff car parks.

Mr Pasin also noted cars and heavy vehicles were not always slowing to the required 25km per hour with Pine Hall Avenue remaining a designated heavy vehicle route.

"I have written to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tom Koutsantonis and Minister for Education Blair Boyer outlining the issues I observed asking for an urgent investigation into road safety around the Suttontown Primary School site," Mr Pasin said.

"Parents, teachers, and students should have confidence that school drop off and pickup will not pose any unnecessary risk particularly to children's safety." Minister for Infrastructure Tom Koutsantonis said given the concerns Mr Bell had raised with him, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport would review the existing road safety infrastructure at both locations.

"I look forward to updating Mr Bell and the school communities on the outcomes of these reviews," Mr Koutsantonis said.

Suttontown Primary School and Minister for Education Blair Boyer were contacted for comment.

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