By Matthew Sims
Students walking to Beaconhills College’s Pakenham campus now have a safer commute to school, thanks to a new school crossing across the busy Toomuc Valley Road.
Thanks to the advocacy of a Beaconhills College student’s mum, as well as efforts from Cardinia Toomuc Ward councillor Stephanie Davies and mayor Jack Kowarzik, the new school crossing near the intersection with Syme Road was fast-tracked in time for its first use on the first day of Term 3.
Cr Davies said she and Cr Kowarzik were involved in pushing for the crossing to be installed as soon as possible.
“Cr Kowarzik and I together applied some strategic negotiation to senior staff to get the traffic counts redone ahead of schedule, which showed comprehensively there was justification of the crossing,“ she said.
“Pedestrian crossings require State Government endorsement, and we had the support of Emma Vulin MP, and there was very efficient cross-agency work done to get these designed, approved, installed, and lollypop people onsite.
“It also required meetings with the school that had to happen during the holidays.“
Cr Davies said she was grateful to council’s engineers and officers for their fast and efficient work.
“Cr Kowarzik and I did ask to get the staff to work fast enough on the plans to put this for consideration in the council budget for this year as a committed project, but unfortunately cost estimates weren’t ready,“ she said.
“Despite this, the council is in a good financial position and could proceed with this as soon as possible under the operational program, so the community benefits without delay.“
“It’s a testament to the community on its advocacy – and teamwork between the school, the council and state.“
The work was also the result of advocacy work to install extra crossing infrastructure for children attending Great Beginnings further up the road, led by local mother Caitlin Wintaur.
She said she had been advocating for more signage or lighting to remind drivers to slow down, with many speeding up to 80 km/h too early along Toomuc Valley Road as soon as they pass Beaconhills College.
“It doesn’t give you much time to get across the road,“ Ms Wintaur said.
“It’s one that quite a lot of children use.
“We’re very happy that council has taken it seriously.
“We’re looking forward to more details coming.”
Beaconhills College business manager David Young said while the school community had welcomed the new school crossing, there were still a number of other serious local traffic issues left unresolved, including the intersection of Toomuc Valley Road and Princes Highway.
“On a daily basis, there are near misses and regular collisions at this intersection,” he said.
“In particular, the right hand turn out of Toomuc Valley Road onto the Princes Hwy is dangerous, made even harder with drivers turning into Toomuc Valley Road from the centre turning lane.
“Signalisation of this intersection would be seen as the best possible outcome and also provide a safe crossing for pedestrians to access walking tracks and sporting facilities on the south side of the highway.”
Mr Young said the school had also lobbied for Cardinia Council and the State Government to look at reducing the speed limit along Healesville-Kooweerup Road near the intersection with Syme Road.
“The current 80 km/h speed limit along Healesville-Kooweerup Road makes a right hand turn out of Syme Road difficult and very dangerous due to the speeds of the traffic with southbound traffic often travelling faster than 80 km/h,” he said.
“Permanent reduction of the speed limit along this stretch of road to at least 50 km/h, and 40 km/h during school times, would improve safety for all road users and making the turn into and out of Syme Road much safer.
“The speed restrictions should also be extended to past the new residential subdivisions and developments heading north.”
Mr Young said the school community had also called for increasing the left-turn holding lane at the intersection of Healesville-Kooweerup Road and Princes Highway.
“The current holding lane for left turning traffic is very short and only holds three to four cars,” he said.
“Increased length of the holding lane would improve traffic flow considerably for both left and right turning traffic.”
Pakenham MP Emma Vulin said she was glad to see the new pedestrian crossing in place for students.
“Road safety is so important and having the ability to walk to and from school rather than drive has many benefits,” she said.
“Well done to all who advocated for this and who assisted along the journey.”
Cardinia mayor Jack Kowarzik said while the new crossing was a positive outcome for the Beaconhills College community and other pedestrians, the council was advocating for more infrastructure.
“We are committed to working with the community to make improvements to our infrastructure and amenities, to ensure that we can continue to build a safer and more accessible shire now and into the future,” he said.
“Council is continuing to advocate for a signalised crossing to be installed at the Toomuc Valley Road and Princes Highway intersection.
“Officers are planning to meet with the school shortly to discuss student and pedestrian safety around this area and further advocacy.”
