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30 zones for Canberra’s schools?

40 signs

ANDREW Barr has announced a suite of road safety measures in school zones.

“The measures include a Police blitz on dangerous speeding and parking around ACT schools, increased use of higher profile road markings to alert drivers that they are entering a slower speed zone and a review of road signage in school zones across the ACT,” Andrew said.

“In 2014, there were over 1372 infringement notices and cautions handed out to Canberrans driving in school zones. I have asked the Minister for Police Joy Burch to work with ACT Police to establish a specific blitz targeting speeding and dangerous parking in school zones. The Minister made this a clear priority in the 2015-16 ACT Policing purchase agreement.”

“Last year, as Minister for Education, I established a joint taskforce of officials from Education and Training, Health, Territory and Municipal Services, Justice and Community Services and Roads. They were tasked to work together on ways to make the roads around our schools as safe as possible for our kids, their parents and carers, the school community and motorists. Today’s announcement is the first important step in that taskforce’s work,” Joy Burch said.

“As Minister for Police, I also made road safety around schools a priority in the purchase agreement we signed with ACT Policing in June.”

The Government would also like community views on reducing the speed limit to 30kmph around particular, high risk schools. Community members are encouraged to provide feedback on the ACT Government’s ‘Time to Talk’ website.

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3 Responses to 30 zones for Canberra’s schools?

John says: 3 August 2015 at 2:58 pm

If people can’t manage 40km/h now, bringing it down to 30km/h doesn’t change behaviour, just increases risk of people being fined who were doing the right speed. Should the ACT Government resort to heavy duty traffic calming measures instead? What other ways can help change behaviour, because the hip pocket nerve doesn’t always work? Surely a measure of success would be less fines, not more.

Separately, you could have used a school zone picture rather than the picture from a city 40 km/h zone.

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Ian Meikle says: 3 August 2015 at 5:00 pm

A frustrated reader has emailed that she typed in “School Zones” as her topic at the “Time to Talk” website and there was no link. “CityNews” did likewise and confirms her experience.
She writes: My points would have been:
1. Not to have varying school zone speed limits. ie. Not some at 30 and some at 40.
2. We need more uniformity. In fact, we need national uniformity. At least let’s adopt the NSW rules and apply the speed limits only when school is going in or coming out. Having limits applying all day creates complacency.
3. And why include college zones in school zones? Surely 16-17-year-olds are mature enough to be careful crossing the road. After all, they’re driving by that age.

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Tracey says: 4 August 2015 at 3:40 pm

No, 30ks during daytime when children are in school isn’t for childrens’ safety. If the same NSW timed signs AND the flashing lights, then there is no reason to go over the limit in the school zones in prime movement hours. The lights work. ACT limits all day are overkill, 40ks is sufficient.

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