Gerald Lynch
Hume council is looking to adopt a Safe Routes to School program.
In August, council proposed an idea to reward safe drivers by having police reward good driving by handing out fuel cards as incentives to do the right thing on the road.
The idea was knocked back by police, with Acting Senior Sergeant Megan Cartledge telling residents at a December 7 police forum that the idea was too difficult to conduct fairly, and would not be a good use of police time.
“My issue with it is that we pull over a lady and give her a voucher for doing the right thing, and five minutes before that she could have sped through a school zone,” she said.
“All of the other parents who see that are going to be thinking how did she get chosen, where’s mine?
“The other thing is, do we want to reward people for simply abiding by the law and doing what they’re supposed to be doing?”
As an alternative solution to keeping pedestrians safe especially around schools, council has now opted to look at introducing a Safe Routes to School project.
Councillor Jarrod Bell said that reducing pedestrian and student injuries and providing safer journeys is an “outstanding opportunity”.
“We all too often see a whole bunch of close calls happening in and around schools,” he said.
Safe Routes to School projects are centered on improving road safety around school pickup and drop-off times and creating safe walking, cycling and scooting routes to encourage active travel.
Such projects typically comprise of identifying and delivering a mix of improvements through engineering, education, engagement and enforcement, identified in partnership between council and the school community.
Cr Karen Sherry said the program could solve some school traffic issues.
“The government cannot seem to provide enough space at schools for pick up and drop offs… I think this is a practical workaround of that,” she said.
