City of Ballarat issues plea: stay alert to stay safe

The City of Ballarat has issued a safety plea to all road users to take more care in and around school zones following two accidents involving students last week.

It’s been less than two weeks since the school term commenced for 2025 and 40km/h speed zones were reactivated after the six-week break. Disappointingly, City of Ballarat crossing supervisors regularly observe drivers not paying attention when they need to.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Councillor Tracey Hargreaves is urging all road users to stay alert.  

“It's a simple matter of keeping everyone safe as kids travel to and from school,” she said.

“We know that kids can be distracted when walking or cycling with their friends or listening to music on their phones. We also know motorists are often in a hurry in the mornings. It’s a bad combination.

“The school zones operate for a small amount of time during the day, and we all have a responsibility to pay attention and abide by the rules for the sake of students, motorists and our crossing supervisors.”  

The City of Ballarat has 68 crossing supervisors working over 61 school crossings within the municipality, operating both mornings and afternoons, five days a week during term time.

Throughout the year, Council receives regular reports from crossing supervisors of poor driver behaviour, be it speeding motorists, failing to stop when signalled, or simply a disregard for safety.

“It's certainly disappointing to have reports like this coming in so often,” said Cr Hargreaves.

“It demonstrates how important it is to have supervisors at the crossings to monitor the activity of road users and ensure everyone gets on their way safely.”

The City of Ballarat invites prospective school crossing supervisors to reach out if they are interested in joining our team. No formal qualifications are required for the role and all successful applicants receive training before commencing their duties.

For more information on how to become a crossing supervisor, please contact the school crossing program team at info@ballarat.vic.gov.au