Crossed out

By Melissa Meehan
FOUR school crossings in Greater Dandenong are earmarked for closure at the end of the year.
The closures were brought up at Monday night’s council meeting as council officers presented their report.
The school crossings included in the recommendation include Liverpool Drive, Springvale South; Kingsclere Avenue, Keysborough; Bloomfield Road, Keysborough; and Janine Road, Springvale.
Councillor Ros Blades said she was worried that the closures would end in tears.
“The crossing closest to me is at Kingsclere Avenue outside the kindergarten,” she said.
“And while there may not be a lot of students at the kinder, students and their families from Wooloorano Primary School use the crossing.
“Not to mention the amount of cars that use the road – it’s just dangerous.”
She said it was important that the Kingsclere Avenue crossing was kept in operation.
“At the end of the day if one child is hurt using the crossing, just one child – I could never forgive myself,” she said.
“At the end of the day it is in an area of increased growth and with the amount of traffic that comes through – it is needed.”
She also moved that the council changed the way they communicated with schools and their community.
“In the past we have written to the principal,” she said.
“But now we will write to the school council, that way the information gets out to community members.
“It’s a very common sense approach to communicating with the community on community issues.”
The City of Greater Dandenong currently operates 82 school crossings throughout the municipality. Each year VicRoads provides grants to councils to assist with funding of staff at school crossings.
Currently VicRoads Traffic Engineering Manual indicates that at least 20 primary school children or 100 vehicles per hour are needed to warrant a supervisor at any location.