Pedestrian School Safety Upgrades for Yass Valley

Yass Valley Council announced that it recently obtained a grant to improve pedestrian safety at Yass Public School, Berinba Public School, Gundaroo Public School and Mt Carmel School.

The projects include:

• Yass Public School: to increase car parking including separate teacher parking, install a ‘kiss and drop’ zone and relocate bus stop with safety barriers to Laidlaw Street
• Berinba Public School: to install 450 metres of shared pathway between Morton Avenue and Church Street and install safe pedestrian crossings at intersections
• Gundaroo Public School: to install a pedestrian refuge in front of the school, install ‘kiss and drop’ zone and disabled car park, and relocate the bus stop
• Mt Carmel School: to upgrade the children’s crossing and hire a crossing supervisor.

Yass Valley Council, Transport for NSW and the local community have been advocating for funding to improve the student drop-off and pick-up zone at Yass Public School for more than ten years.

Local Traffic Committee Chair, Councillor Jasmin Jones, welcomed the funding and commended the proposed works designed to enhance safety for children and parents, saying “Both the community and Council never gave up on this problem and have been working together towards this result for some time. The safety concerns raised by parents, bus drivers and the school principal have guided every attempt by Council to engage with the then Roads and Maritime Services and now Transport for NSW to bring about a safer design.

“Special mention needs to go to Council’s Road Safety Officer Meryl Hinge and Engineer Terry Cooper for securing the grant and guiding the design process. Their assistance to the Yass Valley Traffic Facilities Committee, which advises Council, has been invaluable.”

The school upgrades will take place between 1 January and 30 June 2022.

• Topics:

• Local Council
• Road Safety
• Education / Training
• School Safety