Jo Haylen, the Member for Summer Hill, welcomed Marrickville Council’s decision to install a pedestrian crossing on The Boulevarde between Lewisham Public School and Christian Brothers High School.

Parents contacted Ms Haylen earlier this year after a series of near misses involving students. The Boulevarde sees high levels of traffic, particularly during school pick up and drop offs, as it runs between two local schools. 

“This is a fantastic decision by Marrickville Council that will have a big impact on student safety,” said Ms Haylen.

Marrickville Council agreed to fund the crossing at their meeting last night and to put the crossing to immediate tender in the hope of completing it before the new school year.

“We want to encourage students and parents to walk to and from school and to do that, we need to make sure it’s safe to do so,” Ms Haylen said.

“I congratulate parents who stood up and fought for this crossing, which will benefit kids at both schools and the community as a whole,” said Ms Haylen.

Linda Perrine, President of the Lewisham P&C, said, “This is fantastic news and will give parents more confidence that their kids will be safe getting to school.”

“Traffic on The Boulevarde has become a real problem over the years and your heart sinks into your stomach when you see kids running across the road,” Ms Perrine said.

“The pedestrian crossing will make The Boulevarde safe for school kids and will also improve the connections between the two schools,” Ms Perrine said.

“We’re very grateful to Jo and to Marrickville Council for acting on our concerns so quickly,” Ms Perrine said.

Brother Paul Conn, the Principal at Christian Brothers’ High School Lewisham, says: “Christian Brothers’ High School Lewisham welcomes the announcement of the new pedestrian crossing on the Boulevarde at Lewisham as it will significantly enhance road safety for students at CBHS and Lewisham Public. The CBHS school community is very grateful to Jo Haylen for her organisation and action in achieving this outcome.”

“This is a huge community win and I look forward to visiting the schools again in the new year and seeing the improvements,” said Ms Haylen.