Two new supervised crossings promised for the start of the year at Miners Rest Primary School are still several weeks away from being operational after a delay in the delivery of red and white posts.
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For parents trying to ease congestion and park further away from the rapidly growing school, the non-delivery of the new crossings at Dundas Place and Albert Street has thwarted their plans.
Glenn Bell, whose children are in grades two and three, was planning to avoid the congestion directly in front of the school and drop off and pick up his children from the new car park in Dundas Place.
Parents were alerted late Sunday afternoon, the day before school resumed, that the new crossings were not operating.
"They've got the new car park (in Dundas Place) where parents can park but it's a whole shemozzle because no one knows where to cross," Mr Bell said.
The second crossing would allow children to cross Albert St from the Miners Rest Reserve and playground and walk to school, giving parents the option to avoid the busy streets surrounding the school.
City of Ballarat, which is responsible for the school crossings, said the delay was due to a supply issue with the red and white posts.
"The crossings can't be supervised without the posts and flags in place. Current safety arrangements will be maintained until the crossings are operational," council said in a statement.
School crossing supervisors will begin work as soon as the crossing works are completed.
"The red and white posts are the final piece of the installation and should only take a day once the materials arrive," council said.
Miners Rest Primary School principal Dale Power said the school was fortunate to be getting the new crossings and the delays were minor.
"They are supposedly going to arrive in two weeks, then the supervised crossings will be operational in addition to the one up on the main road. These two new ones are both closer to the school," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS
Over the past decade Miners Rest Primary School has grown dramatically, tripling the number of students from around 150 to around 450 - and with the school's growth has come the issue of traffic congestion and delays in the streets around the school.
The school is also undergoing a massive expansion, with 10 new classrooms, new entry and administration building, specialist rooms, veggie garden, landscaped play areas, competition-grade gymnasium and football oval being built on a 3.6 hectare site next to the existing school, which will eventually accommodate around 500 pupils.
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