Happy last day of school term everyone!
We are pleased to end the term with a very positive update on improvements to road safety for our children when entering through the southern school gate on Forrest Street, following advocacy and engagement by the P&C and school leadership with Fremantle Council over a number of months.
Safety concerns were raised by the community at P&C meetings in 2025, specifically on visibility of approaching traffic when crossing Forrest St to enter the school. Cars are often parked in the no standing areas at drop off and pickup times and this strongly impacts visibility of approaching cars for the schoolkids crossing here.
At this crossing point, a dedicated wombat crossing will be installed, with works expected to start this school holidays. The wombat crossing is an unmanned crossing which gives pedestrians right-of-way, greatly improving safety outcomes for all schoolkids (and adults!) crossing the street here.
At the same time, access for wheelchairs and prams will be improved at this school entrance point. You may have already noticed the line markings in this area for the coming changes.
As the majority of work is being conducted in holidays, minimal impact is expected. The raised wombat crossing will be installed first, and (all going to plan and depending on the weather) this will be installed before we are back next term. The corresponding signs and lines will follow (this is a MainRoads responsibility and is dependent on their scheduling, dates TBA). It will effectively be a speed hump until the signs and lines are all in place, when it will convert to the full pedestrian crossing.
Even after the new pedestrian crossing is installed, please try to avoid parking in the no standing areas on Forrest St, as this is the main cause of reduced visibility for kids crossing the road. Planning is in place to improve the signs and lines for these areas also. Appreciating that this will mean a longer walk from the available parking further down Forrest St, or on Chalmers St or surrounds, it does materially impact the safety of our kids crossing the road there. The new crossing once fully set up will help reinforce this, and will mean all drivers are actively on the lookout for children crossing at this point.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Sam Ludowyk from the P&C. We truly are thrilled that the investment has been secured for this safety improvement, and pass on our thanks to Fremantle Council, especially Kavi and Shaun in the Community Engagement team, for their continuing and significant efforts in securing this outcome, including multiple site visits and community engagement.
Warmest regards from Your P&C 🤗
