It was asked today why I'm doing santa again.
Look in the archives, I've never stopped.

We were promised flashing lights at school zones.

At Kogarah which generated $6.5 million in fines in 2003/2004 alone, all the RTA could afford , or thought was sufficient, were 2 flashing lights for four roads leading into the zone.
That's 2 lights for only ONE road.

I sent this into the two major papers
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Dear letter's editor,
In keeping with the promise of the latest NSW Road minister, Mr Roozendaal, there have been appearing at selected school zones "State of the Art" ( read very expensive ) back to base, solar powered, flashing light units.

But why do they have to be placed so high, behind trees , and poles, and around bends so you don't see them till the last second.

Hello, they are solar powered (no wires) so they can be placed anywhere to improve sight lines.

At the infamous school zone at Kogarah with it's two speed cameras, the RTA has kindly allocated 2, one at each end of the school zone on the Princes Highway.
Great for drivers on the highway, but what about all the drivers on the three other busy roads leading onto the same school zone ?

On Mon 29 the start of the gazetted school year (a pupil free day) two friends and I counted the number of vehicles coming out of these three roads between 8-00am - 9-30am (school zone time), all 2,798 of them.

The 1,686 drivers leaving Rocky Point Rd had nothing to alert them of the school zone, and that it could be school zone time, except a sad looking, accident damaged sign behind two utility poles and the road markings, before they blissfully drove into the deserted school zone.

Without the help of flashing lights 332 drivers came out of
South St..

President Avenue, the main road artery from Brighton -lee- sands has only road markings and a sign hidden behind foliage to help the 780 entering the zone.

During that afternoon's school zone time, I counted 2,111 drivers heading south in President Ave into the Kogarah school zone.

If the RTA/ GOV/ honestly think that only two sets of flashing lights is the way to fix the situation at the Kogarah school zone,

Heaven help the school children .
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The letter wasn't printed (today anyway), maybe it was a little too verbose.
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What is needed at Kogarh is "flashers" at President Ave, Rocky Point Rd. and a set on a school zone sign facing South St.

An Olsen set would do fine there, actually Olsen flashing lights would do the job at all school zones.

But because they only would cost around $350 (not a misprint), a set, in the RTA's way of thinking, and government thinking generally, they couldn't be any good , because they don't cost zillions.

Alan Jones once said it's easy spending someone else's money.

This is a Olsen flashing light set woking in Peakhurst.
NB. the cars's brake lights.

There are Flashing lights on the North and South ends on the Princes Hwy at the Kogarah School zone but there are three other busy roads leading into the school Zone.

This morning School zone santa and two of santa's helpers, Alex and Ron went to the Kogarah school zone to monitor the traffic on the first day of the new school year.

In the SZ time 8.00am - 9.30am I counted 332 cars, vans and buses coming into the school zone out of South St.

These vehicles don't have flashing lights to warn them.
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Ron counted 56 truck and vans and 1630 cars coming out of Rocky Pt Rd. entering the school zone.

There are no flashing lights for them.
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Alex's figures for vehicles coming out of President Ave was 780 vehicles

Those drivers also don't have the benefit of Flashing lights.
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There were 2.798 drivers this morning who might not have known it was school zone time

President Ave, South st. and Rocky Pt. Rd. also need flashing lights.

I'll go to President Ave this afternoon to see how many come into the school zone between 2.30 pm - 4.00 pm school time.
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Update

This afternoon between 2.30 pm - 4.00pm school zone time , I counted 2,111 vehicles coming into the Kogarah school zone on President Ave Kogarah coming up from Brigton lee Sands.

All they have to warn the drivers that it's school zone time, is road markings and a sign hidden by a tree.

HOW MANY VEHICLES DOES IT TAKE TO RUN OVER A CHILD?

Well done RTA

Flashing lights at school zones were promised.

What did we get?

Expensive solar powered units placed on school signs behind poles, behind trees, around bends and in the case of Kogarah only on two of the five entry points into the school zone.

So hundreds of vehicles going through the Kogarah school zone, will not have flashing lights to help make the drivers aware, that a new school year has started.
Today is a pupil free day, so no kids, but still school zone time, but tommorrow there will be hundreds of excited kids and it only takes one vehicle......

As the flashing light units favoured by the RTA ,(and the only ones used that I've seen,) are Solar powered, it would take no time at all to do the job properly.

On the 16/1/07 I wrote about the situation at Kogarah and thought that they wouldn't leave it like this, but I was wrong.

If school zones are there to help keep the kids safe and the RTA admits that flashing lights help make drivers aware, why only put them North and South on the Princes Highway?

What about the hundreds of cars coming out of Rocky pt. Rd in the morning peak and all the drivers heading south in President Ave into the school zone in the PM, not to mention the cars coming out of South ST.

I can't believe that two sets are the RTA's answer to the problem at Kogarah.

What happens if an unaware driver comes out of the three other main entry roads and hits a child?

Did the years of trials and over 100 pages of figures and graphs conclude that 2 sets of lights per school zone will do to keep the children safe, even at Kogarah, a school zone that needs two speed cameras because it's so dangerous?

It reminds me of a Simpsons episode when Mr Burns entered his office through a door with all sorts of security locks, even a eye recognition device and when he gets in, the back door's open, the screen door's hanging off it's hinges, and a goat is standing near the desk munching on papers.

I wonder what goat at the RTA decided that all the drivers on Rocky Pt. Rd, President Ave. and South St. know when it's school zone time and drive at 40kmh or less, at those times.

I shouldn't call someone a goat but what they've done is laughable.

I hope a bit publicity will rectify this ludicrous situation before there's a pedestrian accident.

Mr Roozendal(see clipping below) promised that 100 schools would have flashing lights at the cost of $7.2 million, if Kogarah is a guide no other school would qualify for more than two sets , so thats 200 into $7.2.000.000 =

$32,000 each.

Peter Olsen just told me that his flashing lights cost $350 per unit, and worked great in the Lurgano and Peakhurst area.

Radio station 2gb's Alan Jones embarrassed the Roads minister and the RTA into leaving Peter's lights up after they had torn them down.
But even though they do the job, for the RTA and the Minister to have to be embarressed to accept this common sense cheap solution is I think enough to never use them.
To have a school zone sign on the Princes Hwy. Kogarah at the lights opposite South St. is one good place for an Olsen Unit.
Drivers waiting at the lights don't have asign facing them, let alone one with Flashing lights.

I had written to the then Roads Minister Mr Costa about the middle fence at the Kogarah school zone, sugesting that it would be better along the Eastern footpath to stop kids from accidently stepping on the roadway wheh they all come out at once at 3 pm.
A semi even doing 40 can't stop if one of the scores of kids suddenly steps on the road.

This was part of the fence last week

But no , there is a new fancy fence going up.

I tried to make a link of the letter I sent to Mr Costa but it didn't work .
It's in the "Archives" Under "Same old, same old" July 2005.

So there have been flashing lights installed at selected schools.

But what is the rule for installation of school zone signs?

Do school zones start say, at exactly 100 meters from the school, if so, do signs have to go there no matter what, even though by placing the sign a few meters further, or closer would greatly help visibility?

King Georges and Moorfields Rd Beverly hills.

Wouldn't placing the sign a few meters further be better?

This rather sad one is on Rocky Pt Rd Kogarah, heading North towards the the twin camera school zone behind the pole and N.B. no flashing lights.

The Rocky Pt Rd traffic goes through to the twin camera School zone.

If you install a flashing light set, is the rule that it has to be on the left hand side of the road, even if its obscured by tree's or poles or the bend in the road.

Heading towards the Princes Hwy on King Geoges Rd this FL set is hidden by the bend, while the plain school zone sign on the middle divider is highly visible a lot further back.

The flashing light sets (I've seen so far) are all solar powered, so why can't they go on the centre sign in this case?

Hullo! solar means that there's no wires to worry about.

Or would putting the flashers on the middle sign be too sensible?

Here's another one hidden by the bend at Taren pt. rd Taren Pt

The offical reason given for only putting flashing lights on the left is because they might distract a driver, who could fail to see a child on the left.

Then why have signs in the middle at all?
So here you are drivig at 70kmh and you come around the bend and it's,
"Hey it's school zone time, look out you cars behind, I'm slamming on the brakes."
Put the lights on the centre sign and there's a lot more warning.

UPDATE: The RTA have moved the flashing lights to the very visible centre sign.
Wasn't so hard was it?

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This one with the young trees in front (which will only grow bigger), hide this even more expensive flashing light set, and on the road divider is, you guessed it, another sign, highly visible from way up the road.( even back as far as Park St.)
A close up of this sign is a couple of pages back

What can I say.

UPDATE: on the young trees obscuring the very expensive flashing lights.(above)

In their wisdom they have since cut down the trees put there to enhance the streetscape in front of the new unit block...well done RTA,

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On President Ave Kogarah going up to the Princes Hwy and the twin camera school zone is this sign, without flashing lights, but does have the usual tree.

Thousands of cars come up from the city this way and no flashing lights for them?

Why is it so?

Driving down to Bulli yesterday I saw more Type 1 flashing lights at school zones and today saw more at Nowra, so they are spreading.
The number announced to be installed initialy, was 100 sites so that will leave 3900 schools left to do.

There are a number of schools I've seen that have had flashing lights installed as promised.
But is it just a token PR gesture rather than making drivers aware of school zone times?
Are they the cheaper version? No
All but two I've seen, are solar powered Type 1 unit, with a black band added to the top of school zone signs with two orange lights.
Except at the Princes Highway Kogarah, School zone santa's stamping ground.

This fancy set up is at the south end of the school zone before the Rocky pt intersection and there's another the same, north of President ave on the Highway.
The white plastic is covering,I assume by the look of it close up, a circle of led lights around the 40.

But what do all the drivers have coming up from Brighton lee Sands on President ave have to warn them that it could be SZ time. Just the old sign (hidden by a tree) and the road markings.

Could children's safety still be an issue?

Also all the drivers coming up north from Rocky Pt road don't have the benefit of flashing lights and people coming out of South St onto the Highway are also being kept in the dark.

Maybe they haven't finished yet.

I drove down the Kingsway Miranda (between the fire station and Taren Pt rd) today and there are no lights at this very busy school zone, which has been mentioned a number of times in the media because of the high volume of traffic, and how dangerous this site is.

Maybe they haven't finished yet.

At the Gymea President ave school zone there are flashing lights on President ave, East and West.

But none on Gymea Bay rd on the main shopping strip, and where the school entrance is.

Maybe they haven't finished yet.

This the flashing used apart from the Kogarah ones

I've yet to see the Peter Olsen style of lights