Page 3735 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2013
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(d) the high traffic flow in this area during peak school pick up and drop off times; and
(e) the need for better traffic management in this area to ensure the safety of the children at Trinity Christian School; and
(2) calls on the government to:
(a) install a pedestrian crossing and other appropriate traffic management measures to improve child safety; and
(b) report back to the Assembly by the last sitting day of 2013.
The safety of children is important to all of us. In any situation which impacts children we would always be aiming for an outcome that, first and foremost, ensures their safety. An example of this is the introduction of working with children or vulnerable people checks.
An area where safety should be very visible is when our children are travelling to and from school. Whether they are being dropped off by their parents, walking or catching buses, we want to be assured of their safety from the moment they leave the house in the morning to the moment they get home in the evening. Just as schools must be safe places for students, the roads which surround our schools need to be safe as well. And that is why I bring this motion to the Assembly today.
It is an issue that has been brought to my attention, not just in recent weeks but before my election to this place. It has been an ongoing concern at Trinity Christian School for quite some time. I know this because I live nearby, close to Erindale shopping centre, and drive past the school frequently. I also know quite a number of parents with children at the school and teachers at the school.
McBryde Crescent in Wanniassa is one of the main roads that run through Wanniassa to two other schools and the main shopping area, Erindale. Situated along this road, on a bend, is Trinity Christian School. It is a school with students from kindergarten to grade 12. It is a very busy area during peak school times. There is heavy traffic at school pick-up and drop-off times, a shortage of car parking and, what I believe is most critical, the absence of a pedestrian crossing near the school and appropriate signage to accompany a pedestrian crossing.
I, along with other members of the Canberra Liberals, believe that the lack of traffic and pedestrian management out the front of Trinity Christian School is putting our children at risk. At the moment there is the one standard school zone sign as you approach the school from each direction. However, there is no pedestrian crossing, no school crossing, no safe place for the children to cross the road to get to and from their school.
This does not mean children do not cross here. They need to cross the road to get to and from school. It simply means there is no warning for the motorists that use this road that there are many children crossing in this area. There is no certainty of where
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