Edward Street School Crossing

The Edwardstown Primary School Crossing on Edward Street has consistently been raised with me as a worrying location by members of the school community and nearby residents.

As a local road, Edward Street is under the care and responsibility of the City of Mitcham. Last year I wrote to Council requesting they consider upgrading this crossing. They advised that due to the significant cost of upgrading the crossing, they weren’t considering an upgrade. However, they would welcome funding from the State Government to support potential future upgrades.

Since then, I have also written to the previous and current Ministers for Road Safety to raise concerns regarding this crossing. Our local Federal MP, Louise Miller-Frost, has also written to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport to bring this crossing to her attention.

On Wednesday 6 August I held a community drop-in session with representatives from the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport’s Office, his Department and the City of Mitcham, to see first hand the concerns that the community had, and give parents and caregivers the opportunity to discuss these concerns directly with us. Following this meeting, the Department has been working with Council to improve the existing 25km/h school zone speed limit signage.

Throughout September and October, I continued asking local residents and members of the school community for their thoughts on the school crossing, and to ensure everyone had a clear understanding of the implications upgrading this school crossing would have on Edward Street. For example, if a pedestrian actuated (push button) crossing was to be installed on Edward Street to replace the existing school crossing, Edward Street would lose its school zone – removing the 25km/h speed limit whenever a child is present and returning the street to its default speed limit.

Thank you to everyone who has shared their feedback with me thus far. I have now written to the Hon Emily Bourke MLC, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, to raise your concerns with her and to continue to advocate for improvements to this crossing.