Brimbank council says it’s satisfied with safety at its school crossings after figures obtained by Star Weekly show one in eight crossings in the city is unmanned.
Of the 132 school crossings, 115 are attended by qualified supervisors – lollipop men or women, as they’re known – during school pick-up and drop-off times.
The remaining 17 are left unattended.
City development director Stuart Menzies said the council conducted vehicle and pedestrian surveys to determine if a school crossing supervisor was needed.
The council then applied for VicRoads funding to appoint one. Mr Menzies said the council employed a range of measures to increase safety at unmanned crossings, including speed humps, additional traffic signs, flags at the crossings and enforcing parking controls.
Brimbank council employs 117 school crossing supervisors and 20 relief staff.
Supervisors have to undertake a minimum number of onsite training sessions with a mentor and a four-hour training session with School Crossing Victoria before they can be assigned to their own crossing.
“Road safety is a great concern to the whole community and people such as the police, fire brigades, councils and their enforcement officers all play a part in ensuring the safety of our community,” Mr Menzies said.
“With our children, school crossing supervisors are the frontline and play the most important role in keeping our children safe.”
“School crossing supervisors provide a safe and effective means for school-aged children and other pedestrians to cross the road at established school crossings and traffic lights.”
