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Parents at one of Perth’s most prestigious public schools say plans for an $800,000 pedestrian crossing are nothing but an “excellent photo opportunity”, and believe the crossing in the wrong location to make any meaningful difference to student safety.
Development WA plans to build a signalised crossing along Roberts Road, out the front of Perth Modern – the state’s only academically selective school.
But the school’s P&C has spoken out against the plans, instead pointing to what they say is the real safety issue along Cambridge Street, where throngs of students cross the road to reach the Leederville Train Station, and at the intersection of Roberts Road and Thomas Street.
Another signalised crossing along Roberts Road already exists, further down the street near Bob Hawke College.
“While this crossing may provide an excellent photo opportunity, Perth Modern P&C does not believe it will meaningfully improve student safety,” the group posted to Facebook.
“We call on the Western Australian government to prioritise solutions that will genuinely protect students by investing in the locations where the risk is greatest – not in infrastructure that looks impressive but fails to address the real problem.”
The P&C claimed that two years ago, representatives from Development WA and the government attended a school board meeting to present their proposal for a signalised pedestrian crossing.
“Development WA has since claimed that both the school board and the P&C president voted in support of the proposal,” the post said.
“However, we have no knowledge of any such vote taking place, and the P&C president was not present at that meeting.
“The school board’s role is to oversee matters relating to the operation of the school. Issues concerning external infrastructure and advocacy are the responsibility of the P&C, not the school board.”
They said Development WA had “never consulted directly with the P&C on the proposed crossing and has ignored our repeated requests to meet and discuss our concerns”.
“We have also sought an independent investigation and analysis from the City of Subiaco. The City has declined our requests and directed us to Development WA,” they said.
“In turn, Development WA and the state government have referred us back to the City of Subiaco, leaving the community caught between agencies without any meaningful engagement or accountability.”
However, In response to questions from this masthead, Development WA acting chief executive Lorissa Kelly said the organisation had engaged with the Perth Modern administration, school board and P&C over the past five years about options to improve pedestrian access on Roberts Road – including as recently as March 2026.
“The crossing has been positioned as close as practicable to the front of the school, is adjacent to the existing bus stop and aligns with the public footpath on the southern side of Roberts Road, providing a direct pedestrian connection to the newly refurbished Thomas Street underpass,” she said.
The school’s P&C also claimed an overpass or underpass would be more beneficial.
Perth Modern School declined to comment.
Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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