Safer school crossing for Sandy Bay kids

Published on 27 April 2023

The trip to school for kindergarten and primary-aged children attending Princes Street Primary in Sandy Bay will be much safer and easier with the opening this week of a new permanent school crossing on Princes Street.

"A number of parents and the principal of Princes Street Primary School have had growing concerns about the lack of a safe crossing at Princes Street for a number of years," Hobart’s City Mobility Portfolio Chair Ryan Posselt said.

"This new school crossing will make it safe rand easier for children to walk and cycle to school.

"The safer crossing includes new kerb ramps to help slow down passing traffic and making passage across Princes Street easier for parents with prams and people in wheelchairs."

The decision to install the new permanent school crossing was made after a 20-month trial of a temporary crossing.

The trial was aimed at providing a safer crossing point for school children who were previously negotiating traffic at the busy roundabout at the intersection of Proctors Road and Princes Street, particularly during morning peak hour traffic hours. It also helped identify the best placement for the new, permanent school crossing.

The improvements to better protect our schoolchildren have been made possible under funding provided by the Tasmanian Government through the Vulnerable Road User Program (VRUP).

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, said the program is a key initiative under the $75 million Towards Zero Action Plan, as it provides grant funding to local governments to improve local roads to make them safer.

“These programs are vital to improving roadsafety as local government roads make up about 80 per cent, or 14,500kilometres, of the Tasmanian public road network, with 55 per cent of fatal andserious injury crashes occurring on these roads,” Mr Ferguson said.

“In our urban areas, pedestrians and cyclists represent one in four serious casualties and are at high risk of serious injury or death, which is why this program is so important in delivering projects such as safe crossings, footpaths, shared paths and bike lanes, all around the State to create a safer environment for our vulnerable road users.”

Cr Posselt said a report by the Heart Foundation found safety was a key element in encouraging more children to walk to school, and that a primary safety issue for many, including school communities, was when pedestrians need to negotiate traffic.

"The Heart Foundation report found that creating or upgrading crossing points gives pedestrians more visibility, time and space to get across the road safely," Cr Posselt said.

"It found that safer and more enjoyable routes encourage parents to let their children make their own way to school by walking, cycling or scooting, and that they also help reduce the number of car trips to and from schools.

"Giving kids and their parents safer travelling routes to school helps reduce traffic congestion but more importantly results in immense physical, mental and social benefits for students, families and staff."