Student Safety Not DIER Priority!

Today Windermere School Association expressed their absolute frustration with the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER) for failing to provide a crossing guard to ensure student safety when crossing busy Main Road Claremont, which has approximately four times the required traffic flow for crossing guard approval.

School Association President, Kristie Johnston said “Clearly student safety is not an urgent priority for the Department. We have been waiting for our promised crossing guard since we have been at the new School site in May this year. And we are still waiting whilst our children play Russian roulette with the traffic!”

DIER had agreed to, and was aware of the need for, a crossing guard some years ago when the site for Windermere Primary was selected. It is the School Association’s understanding that parents and the Steering Committee established to facilitate the amalgamations sought at that time a commitment from DIER to ensure student safety when travelling from the Chigwell/Berriedale area to Windermere and that it included a crossing guard on Main Road Claremont. This was agreed to by DIER.

Since the opening of the school on the new site the School Association have been requesting that DIER fulfil this commitment to no avail.

“Ironically, Claremont Primary had a dedicated crossing guard, but after the amalgamation of Claremont and Mt Faulkner to form Windermere Primary, a school with twice the number of students and situated on a much busier road, we have been denied a crossing guard! Furthermore when the site was used as a High School there was a pedestrian overpass. Now it is used by younger children DIER expect them to cross the road unaided.” said Mrs Johnston

Mrs Johnston said “What price does DIER put on a child’s life? On Tuesday afternoon, when DIER were on site surveying student crossings, at least 11 vehicles failed to stop whilst there were children attempting to cross. That is 11 near misses too many! It is only a matter of time before a child is injured or worse! This matter is urgent and we need a crossing guard NOW not once DIER have gone through its lengthy, delay riddled bureaucratic processes. DIER has had at least two years notice to do the necessary paperwork – I think that is sufficient time!.”

Windermere School Association calls on Minister O’Byrne to visit the school and see firsthand the dangers his Department have placed our children in. “Surely if the Minister sees for himself the very real danger our students face crossing a busy Main Road then he will act immediately to protect their lives and fund a crossing guard to be at our school starting on Monday morning” said Kristie Johnston.