Parents at Mount St Thomas, Lindsay Park and Figtree Heights will be on their best behaiour when dropping and picking kids from school on Friday
They will slow down to 30km/h to make it safer for children getting to and from school.
The three communities in question are taking part in 'Slow Down Day', organised by Healthy Cities Illawarra to coincide with National Ride to School Day.
Students at the three schools have also designed posters to ask motorists to slow down, and created videos to promote walking and cycling to school and the benefits of safer speeds.
Posters, flags and banners promoting the Slow Down Day are also in key spots around the neighbourhood.
Healthy Cities Illawarra CEO Kelly Andrews said the pilot 'Slow Down Day' project aimed to raise awareness of the benefits of driving slowly in neighbourhood streets to enable more children to have the option to walk or ride.
"Local streets should be there for everyone - where it is safe and appealing to walk and cycle. Parents tell us that they drive their children to school because there are not enough footpaths and crossings, and because of speeding cars - even though most of them live less than 2km away," Ms Andrews said.
Safe Streets to School and 30please.org.au also helped to organise the day to get as many kids to walk, ride or scoot to school as possible.
Wollongong City Council and Transport for NSW also support the pilot program.
"This is a first time event in Australia, and we are proud we are being able to trial this in our community," Safe Streets to School spokesman Jon Lindley said.
"Around the world 30km/h speed limits are used in local streets to keep children safe and create an environment of mutual respect where both drivers and kids watch out for one another."
Lena Huda from 30please.org.au said Slow Down Day encourages drivers to slow down in all local streets within 2km of schools so children are safe the whole journey from their home to school, not just the last few meters.
"Research shows that a fatal injury to a pedestrian is at least twice as likely to occur in a crash at 40km/h than at 30km/h," she said.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
