WARNERS Bay Public School parents are worried student safety will be jeopardised by a decision to remove a pedestrian crossing on a busy street and not replace it.
The school's parents and citizens [P&C] committee president Duncan Burck said families were calling on Lake Macquarie City Council to delay the removal of the Jones Avenue crossing - on a crest on a narrow road - and review its decision making process around the project.
They fear students will continue to cross Jones Avenue, even if it is not safe.
"Our concerns are what's going to happen when a kid gets bowled over?" Mr Burck said.
"It's a very real possibility and a very very busy street now.
"We've said 'Can we put a hold on it and show us how you've come up with these decisions so we can understand?' because everyone who we've been speaking to have been saying 'This is crazy'."
A council spokesperson said hazards associated with the crossing location included insufficient sight distance, inappropriate road widths, limited motorist awareness and accessibility issues due to the grade of the road.
They said the crossing did not meet Transport for NSW thresholds that determine the need for a crossing, including pedestrian and vehicle volumes in "three typical hours of a day".
They said removal was decided with School Infrastructure NSW [SINSW] and the school principal.
The council and its Traffic Facilities and Road Safety Committee provided formal approval for the removal in September 2020.
"Council's priority is to provide a safe road environment that allows motorists and pedestrians to accurately observe any safety risks and choose a safe option to access the school," the spokesperson said.
"Due to the significant safety risks associated with the crossing, council has no intention to review the decision to remove the crossing."
Mr Burck said families agreed the current crossing was in an unsafe location but that they had understood that it would be replaced with another one on the same road.
He said a map of the wider program of road safety works distributed to residents in June was the first indication to parents it would not be replaced.
He said Jones Avenue had become even more congested in recent weeks due to the relocation of a kiss and drop zone from nearby Mills Street to Jones Avenue to make way for a bus zone.
He said parking on one side of Mills Street was being removed, which had forced more cars into Jones Avenue and surrounding streets.
He said the school had planned to encourage families to use the Jones Avenue gate for the next seven months so workers on a building project could use the Mills Street entrance.
"Anything west of Jones Avenue, which is now going to be a hot spot for parents parking - there is actually no safe way of crossing that Jones or James Street to get to the school safely."
The Mills Street crossing is being upgraded, but some students will still need to cross Jones Avenue to get to it.
"Relocating the crossing was considered," the spokesperson said.
"However, relocation to another point on Jones Avenue presented unacceptable safety risks... it's important to note there's only a small catchment of houses on the other side of the street and those people that would use this crossing can still access the school safely by taking an alternative route which is only slightly longer."
They said the council would assess the "effectiveness" of the works with SINSW and the principal and through pedestrian surveys.
They said SINSW approached the council about the works on behalf of the principal due to the school adjusting its entry locations and gates used for different transport methods.
They said discussions began in 2019 and the program was developed with SINSW, the principal and the school's bus operator.
"Consultation was a critical part of the project development and SINSW worked with the school principal to engage the school community and P&C throughout the process," they said.
"The project scope was finalised in March 2020 and council consulted with impacted residents and property owners through March and April 2020... in May 2022, council advised local residents and SINSW of the upcoming work due to commence in July."
Mr Burck said consultation had not been adequate.
He said the P&C had met with the council and SINSW and there were inconsistencies and a lack of clarity about several issues.
"You're going to take away car parks and you want them to walk from a distance, but you don't want to put the infrastructure in place for them to get to school safely across roads you are putting more traffic down."
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