Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer and Flinders Public School deputy principal Peter Tarasenko with the new enhanced signage. Photo: Shellharbour City Council.
As Shellharbour children returned to school this week, parents and carers doing the drop-off or pick-up may have noticed something new — innovative triangular bollards marking Kiss and Drop zones at 15 local schools.
The eye-catching signs are part of a new road safety initiative by Shellharbour City Council designed to enhance student safety and improve traffic flow around the designated short-term parking Kiss and Drop zones.
Launching the program at Flinders Public School with its deputy principal Peter Tarasenko, Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said the Enhanced No Parking Zone Program included distinct large corflute bollards that wrap around existing ‘No Parking’ signposts to clearly define the area at schools during pick-up and drop-off times.
Cr Homer said the triangular prism-shaped bollards featured messages on all three sides, highlighting key road rules to enhance student safety during the often hectic drop-off and pick-up times.
“This is a great program to help increase the efficiency and safety of school No Parking zones, which at peak times can be challenging for motorists and pedestrians to navigate,” Cr Homer said.
Among the aims of the program is to reinforce road rules particularly concerning No Parking zones, which often cause issues during the high traffic morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up periods.
These rules include not occupying the area for more than two minutes while dropping off or picking up passengers and remaining in or within three metres of your vehicle during that time.
Exceeding these limits will result in a $227 fine, plus two demerit points.
“The safety of children in our community is paramount and this unique program is the latest example of Shellharbour making every effort to safeguard school areas,” Cr Homer said.
He said the pilot program was a first of its kind in NSW, with the 15 Shellharbour schools participating in the program officially raising their bollards on the first day of term one, on 6 February.
To further support the initiative, last month council recruited a team of permanent parking compliance officers (PCOs), who will get to know school communities through the roll-out and implementation of the program.
Cr Homer said council aimed to break down the barriers between PCOs and the community through their involvement in the program as they worked toward educating and keeping communities safe.
He said the program was a timely reminder to all drivers that young children didn’t have the developmental skills to cope in complex traffic situations such as before and after school, when traffic was at its maximum capacity.
Funded by Transport for NSW, the program also includes additional educational resources in the form of electronic and hard copy printed flyers for the participating schools.
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