Georges River Council will complete the installation of new traffic lights on Forest Road and Durham Street Hurstville and undertake an updated Transport Safety Review of The Hurstville Education Precinct.
This is in addition to the work done by Transport of NSW to extend the existing 40 Kilometre per hour school zones on Forest Road, Wright Street, Durham Street, Crosby Avenue, Ethel Lane and Lily Street to make it safer for students to walk to and from various schools in this precinct.
Council expect works to be completed by the end of July 2023.
The decision for upgrades and new Transport Safety Review stemmed from the collaboration of community members, Precinct schools and Council.
The Hurstville Education Precinct is made up of traffic areas including and surrounding Hurstville Public School, Georges River College Hurstville Boys Campus, Hurstville Adventist School, Sydney Technical High, Bethany College Hurstville and St Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School.
Council has assisted with manufacturing and providing driver awareness banners outlining the latest educational materials which have been affixed to the school’s surrounding fences along Orange Lane, Kenwyn Street, and Forest Road, featuring messages in English, Mandarin, and Arabic. These banners serve as reminders to road users about the penalties associated with double parking on streets and speeding within designated school zones.
Georges River Council completed a traffic study in 2017 with recommendations provided to Georges River Council, Bayside Council and Transport for NSW (TfNSW).
The recommendations included modifications to the signalised intersection on Forest Road and Durham Street, installation of new pedestrian safety fences, extensions of the green pedestrian phasing, changes to ‘drop off and pick up’ zones, ‘No Right Turn’ installation on Kenwyn Street, heavy vehicle parking restrictions, kerb and gutter realignment upgrades and line marking works.
Georges River Council has now completed all recommendations of this traffic study, with the final component being the upgrade of the signalised intersection on Forest Road and Durham Street.
Once this upgrade is complete and users of the area become familiar with the changes, a new Transport Safety Review will be undertaken, led and funded by Council.
This review will take into account future development within the precinct and identify short, medium and longer term safety initiatives. Alike the findings of the 2017 review, the revised findings will apply to all stakeholders, schools, Council and TfNSW. To guide the implementation of these recommendations a working group will be created. Safety Reviews are a key tool to support future funding and grant opportunities as they take a holistic view of the precinct and model feasible opportunities.
As Council prepares for the Safety Review, Council staff have continued to work with the schools and community to improve the safety of the precinct by providing updated educational materials to schools, implementing new parking restrictions, and enforcing these restrictions. Council is also working to increase active transport opportunities within the Hurstville CBD and the Precinct to improve safety and reduce congestion.
Mayor Nick Katris said, “It is fantastic Council is now able to commence on this vital work to keep students, families, school staff and pedestrians safe in the Hurstville Education Precinct.
“Our community tragically lost a student in this area in 2019 and has since been committed to improving safety in the precinct.
“The community and precinct schools have passionately collaborated with Council to ensure higher safety standards.
“I’d like to acknowledge the ongoing support over the years of NSW Premier Chris Minns, who first advocated for this project as the local MP.
“Improving the safety of school children is a top priority for Council and we will be looking at the updated Transport Safety Review to look at new ways to further improve safety in the precinct.
“We appreciate the community’s patience during this time of upgrades to the area and we continue to encourage commuters to slow down and be aware of young pedestrians in the area.”
Council staff, Councillors Colleen Symington and Ben Wang met Hurstville Public School’s leadership team and parents at the school to see the work undertaken and understand the remaining traffic concerns. They also viewed the Council’s driver awareness banners in three community languages.
