School Crossings

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (15:29): Today, I would like to report on a meeting I had with representatives of the Department for Transport. Thank you to the minister for working with me to set up these meetings. I had meetings with a representative of Goodwood Primary School and with representatives of Walford School—Goodwood Primary School being on Goodwood Road and Walford School being on Unley Road.

Both schools have identical problems when it comes to their concerns about the safety of students crossing the road. Both schools face major roads where there is no speed limit restriction. There is no audio warning that comes through modern cars' audio systems to warn you that you are in a school zone, and there is no visible warning that you are coming through a school zone and so there have been near misses.

I have been told that cars have missed the red light and gone through as students were starting to walk across the road at both of those intersections. I am reliably informed that the speed camera and red light camera at the Goodwood crossing is one of the most lucrative for the Department for Transport. Some may say that is a good thing, you are catching people, but what it actually tells you is that it is happening a lot: a lot of people speeding through that intersection and a lot of people going through red light cameras at that intersection, competing with people who are crossing the road to get from east to west or vice versa.

What came out of that conversation was that I wrote to the minister and this is an extract from the letter I wrote to the minister detailing the discussions that we had with the department. His ministerial adviser was there also and basically what the schools would like to see is the declaration of designated school zones adjacent to each of the schools on Goodwood Road and Unley Road. In other words, it being recognised that you are actually entering a school zone.

What the schools would also like installed are road based alerts, such as the introduction of prominent visual and audio alerts as you move onto the pavement closer to the intersection. In some parts of Australia there is a slight raise in the road and in other parts there is some rumble on the road that warns you that there is a change in the use of the road ahead, and if you are in one of those phases where you might be on automatic mode as a driver it is enough for you to snap back to attention and see what has caused the change in the environment you are in.

One of the things that we do not see on main roads in South Australia but that you see on main roads interstate are the GPS warnings that come through your audio system on modern cars. You will hear it if you have a car that is probably up to 10 years old. As you are going past a school zone or even past a red light camera, an audio message comes through to tell you that you are in a school zone. We do not get that on main roads. Unley Road does not have it and Goodwood Road does not have it. Not only is it those two schools, but Mitcham Girls High School up the road also has that problem, Adelaide High School has that problem on West Terrace and I think as you drive past Adelaide Botanic High School you would not be told that you are in a school zone.

The schools have asked that the minister consider a solution there with a red light and speed camera being installed at the Walford site and reduction of speed limits. Again, we have speed limit reductions in feeder streets and side streets but we do not have any speed limit reduction at these intersections on Goodwood Road and Unley Road. I know the member for Bragg is interested in this as well and we do not see this happening at the newly upgraded crossing on Kensington Road outside Marryatville High School.

Things have changed: there is a lot more technology available now. I would like to see a much more comprehensive program, if you like, or comprehensive things put in place to warn drivers that they are approaching a pedestrian crossing where children will be crossing.