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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-01 Daily Xml
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TRINITY GARDENS PRIMARY SCHOOL RED-LIGHT CAMERA

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (15:46): I rise to speak on the important pedestrian safety issue arising at the Trinity Gardens Primary School. The Trinity Gardens school was established in 1899 and was initially known as the Wellington Road School, named after the road now known as Portrush Road. In 1999 the school was renamed Trinity Gardens Primary School. The school boasts the Steiner Stream, an alternative and internationally lauded schooling system, alongside mainstream primary education. It also incorporates the St Morris Unit, a special learning centre for students with severe and multiple disabilities. It also incorporates an early learning centre and will soon host the establishment of the Children's Centre, designed to provide support, education and social interaction for children from a very young age.

Trinity Gardens Primary School is very ably led by Principal Vicki Stokes and her Deputy Principal, Roz Green. I have visited the school twice since I have been elected, and it is a great school. Both staff and parents of students at Trinity Gardens Primary School have been very concerned with the main pedestrian thoroughfare across Portrush Road. They have witnessed numerous incidents of near misses with children nearly being hit by passing traffic. They have also repeatedly witnessed passing traffic failing to stop on the red light at the pedestrian crossing.

Concerned parents, including Monica Moss, Anna Ziersch, Sharon Gillson and Sally Wuttke, have aired their concerns about the danger of this crossing. They have contacted and written to the state government on numerous occasions. On 3 June, Mrs Wuttke wrote to the education, police and road safety ministers highlighting this issue. I commend these parents on their interest and persistence in pursuing this matter.

Last week I presented to this house a petition with 162 signatures calling on the government for immediate action to install a red light speed camera on the pedestrian crossing on Portrush Road opposite Trinity Gardens Primary School. The petitioners' concerns have been echoed by the Principal of the Trinity Gardens Primary School, Vicki Stokes. In response to their concerns, the Minister for Road Safety announced that the crossing would be upgraded with an extended masthead with the aim of making the traffic signals more visible to motorists. This response is completely inadequate.

Both the St Ignatius and Loreto colleges, both also situated on Portrush Road, have red light cameras installed as part of their pedestrian crossings. Both schools are within a very short distance of the Trinity Gardens Primary School and both had these cameras implemented as a response to growing concerns for student safety on the respective pedestrian crossings. The parents and school community at Trinity Gardens Primary School have been respectful and patient in their requests for upgrading safety measures for the school's Portrush Road pedestrian crossing, but their patience is wearing thin.

On 8 June this year, the minister responded to a letter by Dr Ziersch (a parent of the school) confirming that, whilst a masthead would be fitted to the crossing, installation of a red light camera was not on the agenda. In the Messenger newspaper this week he justifies his rejection: first, crash data from 2004 to 2008 for the pedestrian crossing on Portrush Road recorded only a small number of crashes; and, secondly, that the number recorded is significantly lower than other intersections and well below the average for intersection crash data used to select safety camera sites.

The minister has completely missed the point. First, it is not an intersection, so I am not sure why he has even brought that up; and, secondly, he refers to crash data, but the whole purpose of this exercise is not about avoiding vehicle crashes but about protecting the safety of students at this school. My personal belief is that this state government is far more concerned with revenue raising than improved road safety. The installation of a red light camera at the Trinity Gardens crossing is simply and irrefutably an effective measure to increase pedestrian safety. It was deemed appropriate by the government for St Ignatius and Loreto school crossings, and I cannot imagine why it would not also be suitable for the Trinity Gardens Primary School.

Therefore, I call upon the Minister for Road Safety to visit the site to witness firsthand the danger that parents and students go through every single day simply to cross this main arterial road to go to school. I have done this, and am appalled that safety improvement measures have not been undertaken sooner. We need to focus on child pedestrian safety, not revenue raising. The minister's response to this issue has been at best ignorant and at worst completely indifferent to the safety of these children. What will it take for the government to take action? Does a child need to be seriously injured? I urge the Minister for Road Safety to get out of his chauffer-driven ministerial limousine and visit this site, and then also revisit his previous decision on this issue and sensibly resolve this important road safety matter.

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