Friday 23rd February 2018
Leader of The Nationals and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh MP is calling for a school pedestrian crossing on the Northern Highway Echuca to service the new Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School.
Mr Walsh raised the matter in State Parliament this week when he expressed the community’s concerns for the safety of the primary school students who live in the Echuca South area.
“Those students have now transitioned to the new school located on Wilkinson Drive on the west side of the Northern Highway” Mr Walsh said.
“There were 165 students attending the former Echuca South Primary School and the majority of those students if they walk or ride to school will now have to cross the very busy and dangerous Northern Highway during times of peak traffic.”
“The recently completed $11 million merger of the Echuca South and Echuca West primary schools had been on the drawing board for over two years and it is a disgrace that VicRoads has not addressed the road safety issues for students during this redevelopment stage” Mr Walsh said.
“Some people have been unkind enough to say that VicRoads does not address an issue until there are statistics to claim it should be done.
“Let’s hope and pray this does not turn out to be the case.”
Mr Walsh will now pressure the Minister for Roads Luke Donnellan to have a supervised crossing built as a matter of urgency.
“There is no doubt that student safety is being compromised and I am keen to see that addressed as quickly as possible.”
“The safety of the students at Twin Rivers Primary School is clearly the priority in this matter and it is paramount that every precaution is taken to ensure they are protected from any danger.”