More than 70 cars caught speeding as WA Police confirm new wardens to manage ‘dangerous’ PLC school crossing

Traffic wardens are back at a ‘dangerous’ highway crossing point after a police blitz on Tuesday caught more than 70 drivers speeding through morning and afternoon school zones near Presbyterian Ladies’ College. Within days of PLC principal Cate Begbie again taking the crossing drama into her own hands by acting as a crossing guard herself, WA Police confirmed two new attendants had started work Wednesday morning at the busy crossing near the intersection of McNeil Street and Stirling Highway. On Tuesday, police and a camera were stationed in the 40km/h school zone outside PLC during the school’s peak pick-up and drop-off hours, firing off 20 infringements in the morning and 53 in the afternoon. The fastest of 892 vehicles to pass through the area while speed cameras were operating was travelling at 63km/h. Just a day later, WA Police announced two new traffic wardens had been identified and already started work at the crossing under an “ongoing arrangement”. Mrs Begbie told PerthNow she was grateful for the reinforcements, but reiterated that longer-term solutions were needed. “Two new wardens starting on the crossing this morning is welcome and provides short-term reassurance for our students and families,” she said. “But given we were previously told the crossing was too dangerous for wardens, and considering the number of near-misses and serious accidents in recent times, it’s clear a permanent, engineered safety solution is still urgently needed.” This week’s swift response from police came amid growing calls for urgent action after the crossing’s previous traffic wardens stepped away, with one saying he feared for his life every time he entered the road. “I have moved both wardens to other crossings for the time being, and don’t believe that I will be able to find anyone to fill this position,“ a staffer from the WA Police Children’s Crossings Unit said last week. Ms Begbie — along with other volunteer PLC staff — had taken on the duty as the school’s “unofficial warden”. Tuesday was not the first time police had held a high profile speed blitz at the PLC crossing. A similar operation last year recorded 401 cars exceeding the 40km/h school zone limit in just 80 minutes. Ms Begbie said Tuesday’s police statistics were “alarming, but not surprising”. “They confirm what our community sees every day — too many drivers don’t adhere to the 40km/h school zone,” she said. “We hope these results underline the urgency for long-term changes, including pedestrian-activated lights and fixed speed enforcement.” Speaking on Sunday, Police Minister Reece Whitby said it was “unacceptable” for cars to be speeding past PLC or in any school zone. ”Drivers need to take responsibility,” he said. “They need to do the right thing. It is unacceptable to speed through an area where there are kids going to school crossing a busy road. “I’ve raised this issue with the Road Safety Commission, I’ve sought their input for this, and I’ll consider anything that will make them safe, whether it’s at PLC or anywhere else in in the State. Our kids deserve to be safe when they’re going to school.”