Sheed renews calls for Kialla West Primary School crossing safety upgrade

By Max Stainkamph

Feb 10, 2022

Warning: Kialla West Primary School council president Jamie Gilbert and State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed at the crossing.

State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed has renewed calls to improve the safety of the “dangerous” school crossing at Kialla West Primary School on the Goulburn Valley Hwy south of Shepparton, for students and parents.

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Ms Sheed said she had been working with various government departments for months to understand what could be done to make the school crossing safer, but there were hurdles in the way that may require the intervention of Victorian Roads Minister Ben Carroll.

“The school crossing is on a major highway, where commuters are driving at 110km/h for long distances,” Ms Sheed said.

“They are required to slow down to 80km/h as they approach the 40km/h school crossing zone.

“In 2018 we saw a terrible vehicle collision, where three children travelling in a car were injured and other children crossing the road narrowly escaped injury.

“We do not want to see another incident like this happen — we need a plan to protect the Kialla West Primary School students.”

The options for making the crossing safe are limited due to the school being surrounded by channels, a cemetery and farmland.

The school’s parents committee has been calling for an underpass as the best option.

“I took the opportunity while in parliament to ask Minister Carroll to visit the crossing to see for himself how dangerous the crossing is for students,” Ms Sheed said.

“I stood at this crossing after the school drop-off and witnessed dozens of trucks passing, some clearly in excess of the 40km/h speed limit, that is in place until 9.30am.”