FEAR that their children will be struck by cars at a crosswalk near Meadow Springs Primary School (MSPS) gathered parents on Oakmont Avenue last Friday.
The crosswalk was installed on February 18 but up to as late as last Thursday, there was no warden present to help children cross.
“I am very angry that the safety of children attending the Meadow Springs Primary School has been jeopardised by an inefficient and hopeless process.”
- David Templeman
“Children are crossing at the crosswalk but because there’s no guard, the cars aren’t stopping,” local mother Kylie Brown said.
“We’ve had some near misses this week – the crosswalk was put in three weeks ago but nobody was there to man it.”
Mandurah MLA David Templeman said the situation was “absolutely unacceptable”.
“I am very angry that the safety of children attending the Meadow Springs Primary School has been jeopardised by an inefficient and hopeless process,” Mr Templeman wrote in a letter to the Police Minister Liza Harvey.
Mr Templeman said he asked for a warden to man the crossing on Friday and two officers attended during the busy period after school.
A police media spokesperson said a temporary warden was in place on Oakmont Avenue this week and a permanent guard would be appointed in the near future.
“There is no difference between a permanently allocated warden and a relief – both are trained the same and do the same job,” the spokesperson said.
Another parent, Angela Brown, said she and her eight-year-old son struggled to cross roads near the MSPS even before the school opened in the morning.
“[On Thursday] we made three attempts trying to cross the road, cars were just whizzing past going over 40kilometeres per hour,” she said.
“I was making hand signals saying slow down and they just ignored me.”
Pressure on MSPS is expected to be relieved during the next few years after the opening of a new primary school in Lakelands.
