Independent MLA Leanne Castley, Moncreiff resident David Conlin and his sons Thomas and Noah are pushing for more pedestrian safety measures around Horse Park Drive. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
The North Gungahlin community is calling for better pedestrian protections around an intersection at Margaret Hendry School, used by more than 750 students every day.
Renee and David Conlin have led the push for safety measures around Horse Park Drive and Mirrabei Drive by launching a petition that has gained the support of independent MLA Leanne Castley.
The entrance to Margaret Hendry School sits on Sutherland Crescent, where the typical 40 km/h school zone is in force. However, most students who walk to the school from the suburb of Moncrieff must cross Horse Park Drive, an 80 km/h road despite running perpendicular to the school.
According to the Conlins, families and residents have raised concerns about speeding, congestion, pedestrian crossing safety and near misses around the school.
ACT Government data show 27 incidents have been reported at the intersection since 2019.
Mr Conlin said the petition is purposely open-ended to give the ACT Government license to do what it believes is needed to address the issue, whether that be lights, signs or a reduced speed zone.
However, Mr Conlin reinforced that something needs to be done to the crossing to keep students safe.
“Kids should have the right to cross and safe passage across the pedestrian crossing here,” Mr Conlin said.
“There are pedestrian crossings here, but the issue is that cars are running too quickly and aren’t pulling up safely. Coming off Horse Park Drive, cars are using the slip road onto Sutherland Crescent, where the traffic lights don’t apply.
“The kids who are walking to school are small, and if there are trucks or cars piling up at the intersection, which there are during school drop-off and pick-up, they can’t be seen.
“We used to walk our kids from Moncrieff to the school every morning, but we’ve had too many incidents, and it’s just not safe.”
Mr Conlin explained the block of land diagonally across from the school is set to have a Woolworths built on it, which will only see more consistent traffic.
“We welcome the new supermarket; that’s not the issue,” he said.
“We need to make sure this road and intersection are safe before more people naturally travel along here, because the surrounding suburbs will only get busier and busier.”
Community members held a meeting in June, where two MLAs, including Ms Castley, attended to discuss how to best improve safety around the school.
After the meeting, Ms Castley said community members contacted the ACT Government about measures to reduce risk. However, the response said it was a driver attention issue, not a road safety issue, and that police can’t consistently monitor a single section of road.
Ms Castley said it is important that Moncrieff and Taylor residents sign the petition so an investigation into the intersection can be conducted before a disaster happens.
“It’s so important that people like David and Renee let us know about issues in their areas of the city,” she said.
“Coming out and seeing this road in person, it’s actually quite remarkable that no one has been seriously injured or worse. Cars are just speeding through.
“We need 500 signatures to have the petition brought in front of the (Legislative) Assembly, and then at the very least we can get a proper response from the government about the issues on this stretch of road.”
As of publication, almost 400 signatures have been collected. You can sign the petition to introduce heightened traffic safety measures around Margaret Hendry School here.
