An accident waiting to happen?

A truck crosses to the opposite side of Killalea Drive to get around parents cars parked outside Shell Cove Public School during pick up time

In the wake of the mounting number of accidents involving children at school crossings, media attention being given to child safety at schools and the NSW Governments recently announced $300 million road safety 3 year roll out package, the staff and parents of Shell Cove Public School are flagging their own concerns surrounding child road safety around their school.

According to Shell Cove Public School Principal, Trevor Clark, at the heart of the issues of concern lies impending changes to roads and transport usage around the school as well as the schools own growth in student population over the next two or three years.

We currently have 170 students at the school and this is expected to double to 350 in the next two years, said Mr Clark.

We are already experiencing safety issues with our current numbers, so as we grow, so will the risks to the children.

When the bridge is completed, what used to be a relatively quiet suburban street along side the school will become a major thoroughfare not just for cars, but also for trucks and other commercial vehicles servicing the new house development.

The infrastructure simply isnt adequate to cope with this increase in traffic, let alone when the school reaches its full capacity of 450 children.

According to Shellharbour City Councillor Geoff Rose, the school is an accident waiting to happen.

There are no facilities for parents to park safely on Killalea Drive when picking up or dropping off their children, said Cr. Rose.

And when cars are parked on Killalea Drive, any trucks using the road have to mount the median strip and cross over to the other side of the road to get around them.

It wont be long before something tragic happens here.

But its not all just a question of inadequate infrastructure say school staff members. Also of concern is that parents themselves dont use the school crossings when walking across the road with their children they say. Parking in No Stopping areas or on vacant land around the school, double parking at the Kiss & Drop zone and calling children to the car, parents doing U-turns which disrupt traffic flow and cars exceeding the 40kmh school zone speed limit all contribute to the concerns about child safety staff say.

Cr Charlie Mifsud believes that more parent parking needs to be provided for drop off/pick up.

There is a vacant block of land directly opposite the school which would make an ideal parking area, Cr Mifsud said.

It is currently being used by some parents for parking, but once it gets developed, those parents will be forced to park on the street again, adding to the congestion and risk factors.

It would be an excellent expression of councils sense of priority if they were to develop that land into a parking facility for the school.

According to Mr Clarke, the schools suggestions would be for a No Stopping zone on the side of the road opposite the school on Killalea Drive, an increased police presence to enforce road rules and traffic speed, a kerbside barrier on Killalea Drive designed to channel people to the school crossing and conversion of part of Stradbroke Avenue into a one-way street.

A spokesperson for Shellharbour City Council said that Council was aware of the concerns being expressed about safety issues at the school.

Council is currently investigating the concerns of parents and staff at Shell Cove Public School regarding child road safety and will be looking at various options to address these issues, said the spokesperson.