Rebecca Brown (front) and Judy Malafant (rear) with other concerned carers and Cr Kellie Marsh at the bus stop. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
The location of a Barrack Point bus stop is putting school children's lives in danger, according to a group of concerned parents.
Several of the parents yesterday met with Shellharbour councillor Kellie Marsh at the bus stop, on Barrack Avenue opposite Headland Parade, to get support for their campaign to get it moved or to have a temporary crossing installed.
Mother-of-three Rebecca Brown said there had been several "near-misses" with school children and their carers forced to cross near a blind corner, which motorists often sped around.
"We're trying to get some support from Shellharbour council or the bus company, Premier Illawarra, to stop a tragedy from occurring," she said.
"It's usually a quiet stretch of road but come school pick-up time there's a lot of cars that come around the corner at around 80km/h when it's a 50 zone.
"Some motorists stop when they see this huge group of kids and parents but others just come roaring past and it's really scary."
Mrs Brown said around 10 to 15 children from Shellharbour Public School and Stella Maris Catholic Primary School were dropped off after school - and all of them lived on the other side of the road.
"The simple solution would be for the bus company to move the bus stop but we have spoken to them and they said they couldn't change the bus route," she said.
"So we're asking council to fund other strategies, such as a temporary crossing or speed humps, which might slow people down."
Cr Marsh said she would take the parents' concerns to the council's traffic committee.
"Before the parents approached me, I'd actually been approached by a resident who was concerned about the erratic driving on this street, as well as the welfare of the children who had to cross," she said.
"I've personally seen people speeding around there so I fully support the parents and will pass on their concerns to council. It is really a matter for the bus company but if there's anything we can do from a council perspective to preserve life and stop potential injury, then we need to do that."
Premier Illawarra refused to comment on the matter yesterday.
However, Judy Malafant, who picks up her grandson at the stop, said she had notified the bus company about the issue early last year.
"When I used to pick up my own children, the bus stop was actually on the other side of the road and it was much safer," she said.
"It was moved about 10 years ago for whatever reason and when I started picking up my grandson I realised how dangerous it was.
"I hold grave fears for the safety of the kids - we don't want a child to be hurt before action is taken."
