Cranbourne Christian College prep students Matthew (front), Scott, Eliza and Jack look forward to using the new traffic school in Cranbourne.
By Sarah Schwager
CASEY children will soon be able to ride the roads on their bicycles without having to worry about cars.
A real-life scale version of paved roads, complete with roundabouts, traffic lights, school crossings and railway crossings, will soon be available for use in Cranbourne.
The Junior Traffic School is set to open in September at the Casey Indoor Leisure Complex.
“This is the only one of its kind in the south east that offers theoretical and practical education for primary students,” said Casey mayor Kevin Bradford.
Cr Bradford said the council had already been inundated with bookings from local schools around Casey, with much of the opening season booked out.
There are only a few traffic schools in Melbourne, including one in Kew established in 1954, one in Essendon, which opened in 1976, and one in Dandenong.
According to Cr Bradford, the Cranbourne site will be twice the size of the original miniature road facility in Kew.
Cr Bradford said a staff member would be located at the Traffic School classroom to run the education programs.
The facility is designed to teach children road safety rules and messages while on their bikes.
The bikes will be available for use at the Cranbourne facility.
As well as primary school programs, the facility may also be available on the weekends for recreational use by families and for children’s parties.
Cr Bradford said at a later stage the council might use the site for mothers’ courses, for example bicycle maintenance.
“The potential at this site is limitless,” he said.
