The City of Casey is leading the way in improving road safety around schools with the launch of a new practical guide aimed at reducing road trauma across the community while promoting active travel for children.
A Practical Guide to Safer School Precincts, was officially launched today at the newly opened Kala Primary School in Cranbourne North, marking the beginning of its rollout for use by councils and communities nationally.
The guide is designed to support Australian schools, councils, and community partners to create safer, more accessible environments around school precincts by providing:
- clear strategies for reducing risk in school zones by looking at ways to reduce congestion and implement safety measures
- practical tools and checklists to help implement changes effectively
- case studies and examples showcasing successful initiatives.
Research from the Department of Transport show that in Victoria alone, a quarter of all child pedestrian and cyclist injuries occur within 300 metres of a school and more than half within 600 metres of a school.
City of Casey Mayor, Cr Stefan Koomen said the School Precinct Road Safety Framework and Program Model are the first resources of their kind in Australia, designed to provide councils with a consistent, evidence-based approach to improving road safety around schools.
"The City of Casey is proud to lead the way in road safety innovation, sharing the learnings from our successful Safe Around Schools program and real-world experience," Cr Koomen said.
"This initiative, which we are now sharing nationally, is helping to create safer school precincts which in turn encourages active travel such as walking or cycling, further supporting well being in the community.
"Road safety around schools is everyone's responsibility and at its heart, this program is about safer streets, healthier children, and stronger communities."
Casey has delivered the Safe Around Schools program since 2020 to more than 100 schools, promoting shared responsibility for road safety among councils, schools, parents, and students. This program informed the framework and model, ensuring they are practical and able to be implemented in any municipality, regardless of size.
The project was made possible through a $250,000 grant from the Federal Government's Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts via the National Road Safety Action Grants Program, enabling the development of these nationally scalable resources.
