Accidents will be prevented and lives will be saved as some 29 locations near school areas, including four sites in Coogee, have received funding for pedestrian crossing upgrades to improve the children’s safety on the streets.
Construction for these pedestrian crossing upgrades has started in 2021 with Howard Street, near Lee Street in Coogee, receiving the project’s first completed new raised pedestrian (wombat) crossing. This will benefit the children attending Coogee Public School, Randwick Girls High School, and Brigidine College.
Per Randwick City Council, wombat crossings are like zebra crossings but are built upon a raised platform so motorists can reduce the speed of their vehicles whilst traversing the crossing. Studies prove that wombat crossings substantially lower the potential for fatal or serious injuries to pedestrians.
Photo Credit: RCC
Three more pedestrian crossing upgrades are expected for the below sites in Coogee for the rest of 2022, whilst other upgrades are also underway in Randwick, Maroubra, and Clovelly:
| WHERE | SCHOOL |
| Oberon Street & Higgs Street | Coogee Public School Rainbow Public School Randwick Boy’s High School Randwick Girl’s High School |
| Rainbow Street (at Ellen Street and Hendy Avenue) | Coogee Public School |
| Bream Street (at Mount Street) | Coogee Public School |
Photo Credit: RCC
Randwick City Council received a $4.375M grant under the Federal Stimulus Road Safety Program School Zones Project to ensure that these upgrades are completed.
Per the Federal Government: “The Road Safety Program is delivering lifesaving road safety treatments on rural and regional roads and providing better protection for vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians in urban areas who will see greater protections through road safety upgrades to include traffic calming, separated cycle-ways, and the installation of raised pedestrian crossings.”
