Calls to have a pedestrian crossing installed outside the school have put parents at odds with Bathurst Regional Council’s traffic committee, but council says it is still looking for the “right fit” to end the impasse.

Councillors have also been split over what action they can take to improve safety and have so far been unable to reach an agreement. 

Things look set to change, though, with deputy mayor Ian North saying a number of alternatives are being investigated that could resolve the problems students face when arriving for and leaving school each day.

“What we’re going to do is, at the next council meeting, we are going to have a discussion about the alternatives for Carenne,” Cr North said. 

“We are looking at three different alternatives about what we can do.”

Cr North said council wanted to examine all the factors before making a decision. 

“When you go through these processes, you’ve got to look it through,” he said. 

Options for resolving the problem include the addition of a pedestrian crossing, however, Cr North has joined forces with Councillor Bobby Bourke, a keen supporter of a Carenne crossing, to come up with another idea.

They believe the site of the old toilet block at George Park, which was already earmarked for demolition, could be turned into a car park.

It would be a multi-purpose facility to be used by people attending sporting events on the weekends, and by parents on weekdays.

A children’s crossing, not a pedestrian crossing, would be added in front of the school to make crossing the road safer at peak times as motorists only need to stop when red “children’s crossing” flags are on display. 

“During the week it is a resource where [parents] are not getting kids out of the car onto the road,” Cr North said.

He and Cr Bourke intend to raise their idea at the next council meeting and are confident the other councillors will consider it viable. 

“Bobby and I think it is a good idea. We will push it as hard as we can,” Cr North said.