Getting to School Safely in the Yass Valley

Each day during the school term thousands of students and their parents travel from home to school in the morning, and make the return trip in the afternoon. Many students living close to school walk, with those living further away travelling mainly by bus or by car. The school journey affects public transport patterns, causes localised congestion around schools and contributes to the traffic peak around nine o’clock each morning.

However, there’s good news for Yass Valley students and parents, as work is underway to improve crossings, parking and bus zones at many local schools.

Work to install a refuge in front of Sutton Public School was completed in January, while work to improve pathways and parking at Yass Public School and Berinba Public School is progressing.

Safety improvements at Gundaroo Public School and Mount Carmel School will begin during the April school holidays to minimise disruption to traffic.

This work is being jointly funded by Yass Valley Council and the Federal and NSW Governments’ 2021/22 School Zone Infrastructure Sub-Program.

Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Assets, James Dugdell, said the program is about providing essential pedestrian improvements around schools while supporting local tradespeople.

“We’ve been really pleased with the progress of these projects that address the community’s top safety concerns at many of our local schools,” said Mr Dugdell.

“Council will continue to work with the schools to minimise disruption to learning, however, there may be some disruption to traffic while the work is underway.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank road users for their understanding.”

All work is on schedule to be completed by 30 June 2022.

The Safety Around Schools works schedule is as follows:

Yass Public School

• Install a dedicated bus lane with safety barriers on Laidlaw
• Street - in progress
• Install a dedicated ‘kiss and drop’ zone – scheduled to begin during April school holidays
• Increase car parking including separated teacher parking - during term two

Berinba Public School

• Install 450 metres of shared pathway between Morton Avenue and Yass Valley Way and install safe pedestrian crossings at intersections - in progress

Gundaroo Public School

• Install a pedestrian refuge in front of the school, install a ‘kiss and drop zone’, install a disabled car park and relocate bus stop – scheduled to begin during April school holidays

Mt Carmel School

• Upgrade Rossi Street children’s crossing – scheduled to begin at the end of April/early May.

• Topics:

• Education / Training
• Road Safety