ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
By ZAIDA GLIBANVOIC
AROUND the hours of 8am and 3.30pm on weekdays, what might you see in front of a school?
Zebra crossings, with little children walking through white and red poles and the words ‘school crossing’ quite literally plastered on those bright orange flags.
Drivers automatically know to go 40 kilometres per hour through those school zones, but are the road conditions still safe when students have no crossing at all?
That is the case for St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School community in Traralgon, who have pleaded and begged for a school crossing for their student’s safety – to no avail.
“We are not happy,” the school’s business manager, Leah Young said.
In a letter addressed to Latrobe City Councillors, Ms Young pleaded to councillors for a school crossing.
“St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School has now been established on Cross’s Road for over 20 years. We still do not have a school crossing. I understand we are the only school in the Traralgon area without a school crossing,” Ms Young said.
The school has around 500 students and is concerned for their safety; with another 100 students enrolled for 2024, the school is growing even more concerned for the well-being of its students.
“We are continually receiving complaints from students, parents, grandparents, staff and local residents who have witnessed events and ‘near misses’ associated with crossing Cross’s Road,” Ms Young said.
A council engineering officer met with staff from St Pauls recently.
The head of both junior and senior schools attended to discuss the crossing. The group stood out on Cross’s Rd at peak pick-up time to see alarming amounts of children crossing along the street in heavy traffic.
Showcasing just how dangerous the street was during this time, the group allege they witnessed a Lavalla Catholic College student narrowly evade an incident when they crossed north of Cross’s Rd.
In an even more alarming event, the group also alleged that they “witnessed a grandparent, who was not particularly agile, scurry as best she could across the road with her granddaughter.”
Although Ms Young was appreciative of the council officer’s visit to the school, it is not a guarantee of student safety they so desperately need.
“Unfortunately, our discussions did not bring forward any particular positive outcome. We were advised there is no specific capital funding in the council’s budget for the 2022/23 or the 2023/24 year,” Ms Young said.
“Further to this, we were advised an application cannot be made to VicRoads for the funding of a school crossing supervisor as there is no physical school crossing.”
The school was told that the matter is on ‘funding lists’ as well as on a ‘list for possible future grant application funding’.
“We received a letter from a local resident who witnessed two ‘near misses’ last year.
Since this time, I have been continuously communicating with council officers to secure a commitment from the council for the provision of a school crossing. There have also been at least two other occasions where the school has contacted the council about a school crossing,” Ms Young said.
Traralgon resident Graeme O’Rourke wrote to the Express regarding the issue.
“Cross’s Road in Traralgon is extremely narrow and dangerous and about 11 months ago I had two very close calls when St Paul’s students were heading home,” he said.
“I made enquiries concerning the results of their (St Paul’s) application and I am very disappointed to hear that the city says it does not have the budget, nothing they can do, there is no money – I wonder what price the city places on injury or worse to a student or parent.
“When I read about some of the projects and schemes that the city funds, I just shake my head and wonder if there really has to be a tragedy before they take action,” Mr O’Rourke added.
The Student Representative Council at St Paul’s has also pitched in their opinions and written to the council.
“St Paul’s has been requesting a crossing on Cross’s Road for the past year, and now as students we are writing to the council because a great number of students who either walk or ride to school are struggling to cross the road with the high flow of traffic and it is very dangerous,” they wrote.
“The absence of a school crossing forces us to cross a busy road with heavy traffic, making it a daunting task, particularly during peak hours.
“Please take these concerns into consideration and put safety first, so parents, students and teachers have a peace of mind when students travel to and from school.”
The school will not promote the school community walking to campus given the unsafe situation. The school has promised to continue advocating for a school crossing and in the meantime, will embark on an awareness campaign within the community to highlight the unsafe situation of drop-off and pick-up times.
