According to the Government’s report (“Review of School Crossings and Traffic Issues at Schools, Child Care and Older Persons’ Facilities”, July 2004) “The ACT has one of the lowest pedestrian accident rates in the world” and “the ACT has a rate that is less than half the Australian average for the number of pedestrians killed. The report states that “one of the key reasons for this achievement is it’s relatively well planned layout with a strong road hierarchy system”.
Closing neighbourhood schools forces school children to cross major roads, breaking down the road hierarchy that makes Canberra safe. No mention of traffic safety has been made in the Government’s plan. At the consultation meeting for the South East Belconnen region the Education Department CEO, Dr Michele Bruniges admitted that safety assessments had not been done. Clearly the safety of school children was not part of the process for deciding which schools would close. This is not good enough.
Update: Published in the Canberra Times, 18th August.
