St Aloysius students report feeling much safer crossing Nautilus Grove with the installation of a flagged and supervised crossing being constructed for the start of the school year.

Chair of the Kingborough Community Safety Committee (KCSC) and Deputy Mayor of Kingborough, Cr Jo Westwood said she was really pleased to see the introduction of a new school crossing at Huntingfield.

 “Safety around schools is one of four priority areas identified in the committee’s action plan for 2020 and 2021,” said Deputy Mayor Westwood.

“The committee is focussed on delivering tangible outcomes which will make a difference to the safety of residents.”

Other priority areas identified by the committee include road and traffic safety, outdoor recreation and facilities and the broader category of urban/residential/personal safety which focuses on issues such as police capacity in the area, bus stops and public lighting.

Deputy Mayor Westwood said she was really proud to have delivered the crossing as part of the work undertaken by the KCSC and commended committee member Rod Street for his dedication in bringing the project through to completion.

“The crossing will help students from both St Aloysius Catholic College and the Tarremah Steiner School to cross Nautilus Grove safely,” said Deputy Mayor Westwood.

“That’s a huge number of children who regularly cross this busy stretch of road.”

Between the two Huntingfield schools, there are approximately 600-800 students regularly using the area for transport to and from schools, including students who come from the Blackmans Bay campus of St Aloysius to walk home or be collected from the Huntingfield campus.

After an incident last year which involved two young students being struck by a bus, Deputy Mayor Westwood said she was contacted by a concerned parent, who raised the need for a school crossing on Nautilus Grove and was quite surprised to learn there wasn’t already a crossing, given the size of the student population in the area.

Deputy Mayor Westwood took the issue to the KSCS and members decided to visit the area to observe.

“Schools are high traffic environments, particularly in peak periods during drop off and pick up,” Deputy Mayor Westwood remarked.

“It was really powerful for the committee to witness for themselves the volume of traffic and see the large number of students trying to cross between cars and buses.”

The flagged, unmanned crossing was installed by Kingborough Council following discussion with the school and St Aloysius is arranging for supervision of students crossing during peak times.

Acting Principal of St Aloysius Joseph Sandric said that there are 17 buses which go through the school each morning and afternoon with the Huntingfield Campus often a transfer point for students catching connecting buses to complete their daily commute.

“It’s about safety,” said Principal Sandric.

“That’s the key thing.”

Many students also walk to home to Huntingfield or to local businesses to meet their parents after school meaning many do have to cross the busy thoroughfare.

Although the school considered the possibility of employing a crossing guard, each school is only allocated one such position and St Aloysius already has a manned crossing at their primary campus.

In spite of this, Grade 5 students Jessie, Kristiina, Lucas and Evie agreed that they felt much safer crossing the road with the new installation.

Students Stella (7) and Chloe (11) Rider who were involved in the accident last year have also felt much safer with the installation of the crossing and have been able to resume crossing the road independently.

“I don’t have to worry anymore!” said Stella, who spent three days in hospital after the accident recovering from severe foot injuries.

Natalie Rider, mother of the two girls, was heavily involved in implementing the project and has praised the efforts of Deputy Mayor Westwood, Rod Street, St Aloysius and the Kingborough Council in getting the safety upgrades in place.

“Installing the crossing has given Stella and Chloe their confidence back,” said Ms Rider.

Another important element for the Rider family was the support of the St Aloysius school community in the months following the accident.

“The school was fantastic,” said Ms Rider who expressed her appreciation to the teachers, students and staff at St Aloysius.

“The girls were offered counselling and so were we.”

Many students at the school witnessed the incident and the school also offered counselling and services to those who required it as well as helping to keep Chloe and Stella connected to their teachers and friends at school during their recovery.

Despite the horrible nature of the accident, Ms Rider says it has prompted some positive outcomes in the long term, including a developing friendship between Stella and the bus driver involved.

“It was a horrible accident,” said Ms Rider who is pleased that the risks to future students have been reduced now that the crossing has been installed and thanked both Deputy Mayor Westwood and Rod Street for their willingness to listen and implement the project.

Deputy Mayor Westwood said the crossing was a joint effort between residents, the school and Kingborough Council.

“It’s an excellent example of working together at a local government level to deliver good outcomes for the community,” said Deputy Mayor Westwood.

Pictured above: Deputy Mayor of Kingborough, Jo Westwood, Natalie Rider, Grade 5 students Lucas, Evie, Kristiina and Jessie along with St Aloysius Acting Principal Joseph Sandric (back) testing out the new school crossing on Nautilus Grove. Students have reported feeling safer and increased confidence about crossing the busy roadway since the installation of the supervised and flagged crossing point.