Near misses at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School crossing in Mernda
A lollipop lady has been dodging drivers breaking the speed limit at her Mernda school crossing for three years, and says speeding is only getting worse. She’s leading a campaign to force drivers to slow down before disaster strikes.
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Slow down — that’s our plea for reckless drivers speeding through a school crossing in Mernda.
The Diamond Valley Leader has teamed up with Victoria Police and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School to campaign for a permanent flashing 40km/h sign, warning approaching motorists of the school crossing on Mernda Village Drive.
It comes after the school’s lollipop lady told Diamond Valley Leader of her horror at having to “jump away” from speeding drivers, some doing up to 80km/h through the crossing.
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Kirsty Meulblok has had her stop sign knocked from her hands and even been brushed by cars in her three years at the crossing.
But the 50-year-old said driver behaviour at the crossing was becoming worse.
“Drivers don’t obey the 40km/h speed limit at all,” she said.
“When police aren’t at the crossing drivers are doing anywhere between 60-80km/h.
“It’s getting worse because schools are growing, the area is building up with more people and there are more cars on the road.”
Ms Meulblok said it was only a matter of time before a life is lost and pleaded with drivers to slow down.
“I’ve got preps that have just started school and they get excited and try to run across the road, but I have to pull them back and teach them the road rules,’’ she said.
“No parent should have to think their kids are not safe once they let them out the front door to go to school, so the message is simple: slow down.”
Mernda police Senior Sergeant Daniel Jamison said the crossing outside St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School was dangerous.
“The way the road is designed people naturally exceed the speed limit,” he said.
“We have two schools in the area that use this crossing; there is a local shopping precinct nearby, so there is high pedestrian activity through this crossing.”
Sen-Sgt Jamison said there was no excuse for careless driving anywhere, but especially through school crossings.
“We will not tolerate it and will not apologise for punishing offending drivers,” he said.
Yan Yean state Labor MP Danielle Green called for more traffic islands and street trees to be installed along the road.
“Mernda Village Drive is a 700m stretch of a permanent 40km/h zone, so I find it difficult drivers would be unaware of the speed limit,” she said.
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