New crossing to be moved

By Kath Gannaway
A NEW school crossing in Riversale Road, Yarra Junction, will be moved 12 metres following a meeting last week to address safety and traffic concerns.
The crossing, and another just metres away in Little Yarra Road, were completed during the recent school holidays to meet the growing demand of Upper Yarra Secondary College and Little Yarra Steiner School students.
The safety of the Riversale Road crossing was questioned by secondary college parent Jeanette Banks after the first few days of operation resulted in increased traffic congestion and the proximity to Little Yarra Road resulting in drivers turning left from Little Yarra Road into Riversdale Road being confronted with the crossing.
Mrs Banks had been instrumental in lobbying for the crossings and while she said she welcomed the fact that they were finally provided, she said she was very concerned for the safety of the crossing supervisors and students with very little warning to drivers that the crossing was so close. Following a week of monitoring the crossings, school principal Brian Way said the school, local police and a representative of Martyr’s Bus Lines, had met with the Shire of Yarra Ranges on Thursday.
“It was obvious there were some things that weren’t working,” Mr Way said.
“The shire has said they will do what is necessary to make it work and have undertaken to do a bit of a re-design and come back to us.
“It was hard to foresee all the difficulties until we had it operating and there were several options which the shire weighed up for benefits and problems,” he said. He said he believed that wherever the crossing has been placed there would have been teething problems but commended school parents who he said had taken the initiative to change their driving routes to take pressure off the intersection.
“The other thing which has made a difference is our school crossing supervisors who are very experienced and are coordinating well together to ensure the crossings work smoothly,” Mr Way added.
Mark Varmalis, manager of civil development services with the Shire of Yarra Ranges, said the shire would now look at moving the crossing about 12 metres away from the corner of Little Yarra Road towards the Warburton Highway.
Additional work would be done, Mr Varmalis said, to improve access for buses, re-position signage, increase signs for the keep clear zones and modify the traffic island at the intersection to make it easier for vehicles turning into Little Yarra Road.