School Zone Santa .Com

Flashing lights at school zones were promised.

What did we get?

Expensive solar powered units placed on school signs behind poles, behind trees, around bends and in the case of Kogarah only on two of the five entry points into the school zone.

So hundreds of vehicles going through the Kogarah school zone, will not have flashing lights to help make the drivers aware, that a new school year has started.
Today is a pupil free day, so no kids, but still school zone time, but tommorrow there will be hundreds of excited kids and it only takes one vehicle......

As the flashing light units favoured by the RTA ,(and the only ones used that I've seen,) are Solar powered, it would take no time at all to do the job properly.

On the 16/1/07 I wrote about the situation at Kogarah and thought that they wouldn't leave it like this, but I was wrong.

If school zones are there to help keep the kids safe and the RTA admits that flashing lights help make drivers aware, why only put them North and South on the Princes Highway?

What about the hundreds of cars coming out of Rocky pt. Rd in the morning peak and all the drivers heading south in President Ave into the school zone in the PM, not to mention the cars coming out of South ST.

I can't believe that two sets are the RTA's answer to the problem at Kogarah.

What happens if an unaware driver comes out of the three other main entry roads and hits a child?

Did the years of trials and over 100 pages of figures and graphs conclude that 2 sets of lights per school zone will do to keep the children safe, even at Kogarah, a school zone that needs two speed cameras because it's so dangerous?

It reminds me of a Simpsons episode when Mr Burns entered his office through a door with all sorts of security locks, even a eye recognition device and when he gets in, the back door's open, the screen door's hanging off it's hinges, and a goat is standing near the desk munching on papers.

I wonder what goat at the RTA decided that all the drivers on Rocky Pt. Rd, President Ave. and South St. know when it's school zone time and drive at 40kmh or less, at those times.

I shouldn't call someone a goat but what they've done is laughable.

I hope a bit publicity will rectify this ludicrous situation before there's a pedestrian accident.

Mr Roozendal(see clipping below) promised that 100 schools would have flashing lights at the cost of $7.2 million, if Kogarah is a guide no other school would qualify for more than two sets , so thats 200 into $7.2.000.000 =

$32,000 each.

Peter Olsen just told me that his flashing lights cost $350 per unit, and worked great in the Lurgano and Peakhurst area.

Radio station 2gb's Alan Jones embarrassed the Roads minister and the RTA into leaving Peter's lights up after they had torn them down.
But even though they do the job, for the RTA and the Minister to have to be embarressed to accept this common sense cheap solution is I think enough to never use them.
To have a school zone sign on the Princes Hwy. Kogarah at the lights opposite South St. is one good place for an Olsen Unit.
Drivers waiting at the lights don't have asign facing them, let alone one with Flashing lights.