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Warrnambool’s newest supervised school crossing opened this week, with students and community members now able cross Raglan Parade at Ardlie and Hider streets more safely.
The new school crossing (the 32nd in Warrnambool) follows the introduction of a 40km/h school zone in this section of Raglan Parade which was introduced in August.
Warrnambool Mayor Cr Ben Blain said that Council was very happy to be able to partner with the Department of Transport to improve safety for students.
“It’s been a really big partnership with the Department of Transport,” he said.
“Safety is number one here, and for the kids to be able to get from one side of the highway to the other, it’s just really important.
“This is something that will really change the way kids get to school.”
Local resident and Walk Don’t Run Coordinator Donna Monaghan said that she was very excited to see the crossing open.
“I’ve witnessed near misses and we wanted to be proactive and not reactive to an injury or a fatality,” she said.
“I started petitioning in the median strip, Monday to Friday, encouraging people to toot if they wanted 40km/h.
“It’s complex because it is a (State) Government road, and we’re asking for a community facility on it. And our school actually wasn’t on the road, so that made it harder too.
“But we’ve had good support from Council, from the school principal, the neighbourhood and we’ve just been really fortunate that we got funding.”
Emmanuel College Principal Peter Morgan welcomed the safety improvements for his students and for the community.
“It’s an asset for Warrnambool,” he said.
“It’s a great addition to the highway here given its proximity to the school.
“We’re really pleased that it will increase the safety of our young people as they cross the road to and from school.”
Council provided a combined $170,000 in funding to build the crossing and a new footpath on the west side of Hider Street.
The Victorian Department of Transport funded the implementation of the 40km/h school zone as well as an awareness campaign about the new crossing.
While the crossing and the 40km/h school zone will improve safety for students, we know that more needs to be done to address safety at this intersection, and at the nearby Fitzroy/Botanic Road intersection, and we will continue to lobby for funding to upgrade this Victorian Government-owned and managed road.