Council works with local school to encourage road safety
Wingecarribee Shire Council is reminding motorists to slow down and travel safely around schools with school zones coming back into effect as of today.
Drivers must slow to 40 kilometres per hour in school zones on weekdays from 8.00 to 9.30am and again from 2.30 to 4.00pm, unless otherwise signed.
In an effort to improve road safety in our Shire’s busiest town, a second set of school zone flashing lights has been installed on Boolwey Street in Bowral.
Council’s Road Safety Officer, Melanie Lausz, said that Bowral Public School is one of more than 500 NSW schools to receive a second set of lights due to its busy entrance.
Since 2014, additional flashing lights have been installed at locations where their road safety benefits are maximized.
“We’ve been working with teachers and parents of Bowral Public School after concerns were raised about drivers failing to heed the traffic signals,” she said.
“Children are our most vulnerable road users and their lack of road experience makes it difficult for them to judge dangerous situations,” she continued. “So we’re relying on motorists to remain alert and vigilant.”
Roads and Maritime Services approved the additional flashing lights after considering Council’s recent traffic and pedestrian counts.
Along with the additional lights, custom Look out before you step out banners have also been installed outside the school targeting pedestrian behaviour.
The brightly coloured banners remind students and parents to take an extra moment to check the road is clear before crossing; including at traffic signals and children’s crossings.
“We hope that this new signage will help to highlight road safety as a key priority for our children and people travelling through busy school zones,” said Ms Lausz.
For further information on keeping our students safe call Wingecarribee Shire Council’s Road Safety Officer on phone 4868 0888.