Parents at Riverton Primary School are outraged over the ongoing shortage of traffic wardens at the busy dual carriageway of Vahland Avenue, raising serious safety concerns for children commuting to and from school.
In response, local City of Canning Councillors Ben Kunze and Shen Sekhon, who also serve on the Riverton Primary School Board, put forward a Notice of Motion at this week’s Ordinary Council Meeting on March 18 to address the issue.
At the meeting, Council noted the long-standing safety concern at children’s crossings across the City of Canning, including Vahland Avenue and Corinthian Road, where many crossings remain unmanned due to the critical shortage of traffic wardens.
It was resolved that the Mayor writes to Premier Roger Cook, the Minister for Police, the Minister for Education, and the Commissioner of Police and Road Safety, advocating for increased investment in the Children’s Crossing Unit to improve recruitment and remuneration of traffic wardens, ensuring crossings are safely staffed.
“Our children’s safety is of paramount importance,” Cr Sekhon said. “Without traffic wardens, children are left to navigate four lanes of traffic, during peak hours. The risks are clear, and we cannot afford to wait for a tragedy before action is taken.”
The success of initiatives such as Bike Education and the Your Move program has encouraged more children to walk and cycle to school. However, due to safety concerns, many parents are reconsidering these active transport options, which has increased congestion on roads near the school.
“Sometimes, my friends and I have to vigorously wave at the cars on both lanes to stop. While some drivers will stop, it’s not simultaneously on both lanes, so it’s very confusing and dangerous,” Manish Mannem, a Year 5 student who cycles to school every day via Vahland Avenue, said.
Councillor Ben Kunze noted that the City of Canning had previously invested in flashing Wig Wag lights to improve safety at the crossing. However, without traffic wardens, this investment is being wasted.
“There have been issues surrounding the unavailability of traffic wardens across Perth for a decade now, and we feel the State Government needs to address the underlying issues to attract more traffic wardens into the system. Parents need confidence that there will be a traffic warden available to help their child cross safely, especially on a busy road like Vahland Ave,” he said.
Another concerned parent, Mr Shivas Lindsay, said his daughter Sophia has been walking and biking to school for years. “Since there are no wardens, the crossing makes her nervous. The new Wig Wag lights are not being obeyed by drivers, and the kids are left sometimes for a long time waiting for the drivers to notice and actually stop,” he said.
For the past six months, the school crossing has only been staffed intermittently. One traffic warden has been on leave, while the remaining warden cannot safely manage traffic across four lanes alone.
“We’ve been alerted by the Children’s Crossing Unit that traffic wardens do not feel safe enough covering both sides of Vahland Avenue by themselves. How are children supposed to navigate the four lanes, plus a turning lane, in peak hour traffic, by themselves? I have seen so many near misses, and that’s when we had traffic wardens. The cars just don’t see the kids,” said Tim Williams, a parent who frequently walks home with his daughter after school.
The issue is not isolated to Riverton. The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has identified safer student crossings as a key priority for 2025, advocating for the conversion of 30 children’s crossings on multi-lane, high-speed, high-volume roads into signalized pedestrian crossings to enhance safety for both children and traffic wardens.
