St Leonards parents call for permanent crossing guard on main road

A small stretch of road at St Leonards is the interconnector between the area's three schools - St Leonards Primary School and the Tamar Valley Steiner School on St Leonards Road, with Larmenier Catholic Primary School further back on Station Road.

The area experiences hundreds of parents and children each day travelling to the schools - with only one main pedestrian crossing on busy St Leonards Road, and no crossing guard to help parents and pupils cross safely.

A group of concerned parents from St Leonards Primary and Launceston councillor Rob Soward wrote to Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff about the issue.

Parent Katrina Burling said with growth in the area set to continue, it was time for a crossing guard to be installed.

"We've got subdivisions and things going in which means more traffic and kids in the area," Mr Burling said.

"There's three schools in the area, I've seen a few near misses here which makes my blood run cold... a four-wheel drive came through here one day and a little boy just ran... he wasn't on the crossing but ran straight across the road, a four-wheel drive you're not going to see a small kid running across the road.

"Log trucks come through here quite a bit ... I'm here early in the afternoon to pick my guys up and cars don't slow down that much, you get the odd one that just sails through the crossing."

One parent, who did not wish to be named, said they had lived in the area since childhood and went to St Leonards Primary School, and their children now attended.

The parent said they had witnessed "hundreds" of near misses on the busy street, and didn't believe a crossing guard had ever been in place.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mr Soward said the issue of student safety is one he has heard countless times in his role as a Launceston councillor.

"The benefit of having a proper guard is they're highly trained, they have to do a course and they know the area," he said.

"They're locals - and they're looking out for locals.

"It's too easy for cars to drive through crossings without realising or looking - it's dangerous at school times."

A government spokesperson said crossing guards were the responsibility of the Department of State Growth, not the Education Department.

"The Department of State Growth manages the assessment and provision of a school crossing guards," they said.

"A letter that was sent to the Education Minister is being passed on to the appropriate department and will be considered."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: