Bus stop boycott
The Gooseneck: Phil McNaughton and Kam Whyte are furious at the Department of Transport’s decision to move the school bus stop to a dangerous section of Kardella Road.
ANGRY is an understatement.
Kardella residents are furious about the location of a proposed new school bus stop on Kardella Road.
With the Department of Transport refusing to budge on the site, residents have vowed to boycott the new stop.
The bus stop is located at the bottom of a section of road nicknamed ‘The Gooseneck’, due to its blind corner and steep decline.
The new location has caused a great deal of concern for not only parents, but all local residents.
Kam Whyte, whose children catch the school bus to Korumburra, said the new location is dangerous, not only for children, but for other motorists using the stretch of road.
“By the time cars come down the hill, they’re often going 120km an hour,” Mr Whyte said.
“If you came around the corner and saw the bus pulling out, it would be extremely difficult to slow or stop a loaded vehicle on such a steep
descent.”
This is not the only safety issue regarding the new location.
The current bus stop is located 500m further into town and is the final stop for the Korumburra East bus. If all goes to plan, the current stop will continue to be used for an afternoon drop-off point, with the new location used for the morning pick-up.
The majority of the 19 children catching the bus at present, 16 of whom are primary school age, are able to walk or ride bikes to the old stop. They leave their bikes in a neighbour’s yard and a number of houses are nearby should any child require assistance.
The proposed stop however, is too far for children to travel to safely and independently.
“There are no houses nearby for the kids to run to if they need help and there’s nowhere for their bikes to be left without being easily stolen,” Mr Whyte said.
“Plus, the kids would have to walk down here to get their bikes because they’re being dropped off somewhere different. That’s further than they’d walk home in the first place.”
To add to a growing list of problems, the new location has very little area for parents to park whilst collecting their children from the bus, creating another safety concern on the narrow stretch of road.
The Korumburra bus has exceeded capacity and with the number of Kardella children expected to rise to 28 over the next three years, they will soon be required to catch the Strzelecki bus to school.
The Department of Transport has decided to construct a new bus stop despite the current one already being on the Strzelecki route.
Residents first became aware of these plans when a bus shelter was erected in January, with no consultation with local schools or bus companies from the Department.
They want the stop moved across the road from the current location, however the Department states this cannot be done due to heritage listed oak trees at the site.
“Clearly the trees must not be disturbed, but our proposal does not impact on them at all; it is more than 10m from the trees,” Mr Whyte said.
“The road shoulder could be widened just past the trees, and the fence moved back into the adjacent paddock, which is ironically zoned: Public Use – Transport.”
A petition for road users has collected almost 100 signatures and residents are still waiting on a response from the Department.
Local trucking companies have also expressed safety concerns for the new plans after being contacted by residents.
A number of milk tankers and logging trucks require use of Kardella Road.
Fellow parent, Phil McNaughton questioned whether the site was even inspected before a decision was made.
“It’s easy enough to point out a spot on a map, where the road looks straight and flat, when in reality it’s the opposite,” he said.
“Children’s safety should be the main issue and it seems like they haven’t considered it at all.”
Mr Whyte said parents may choose to drive their children to school rather than use the stop.
“It’s a shame they’ve already wasted money building a bus shelter no one will use,” he said.
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