The two school zones outside Red Hill Public School and Mount Austin High School on Bourke Street will soon be combined, leaving one long 40 kilometre per hour stretch from 8am to 9:30am and 2:30pm to 4pm on school days. 

Councillor and member of the Local Traffic Committee Dan Hayes said he did not expect the changes to cause too much disruption to general traffic.

“You would expect that the traffic along Bourke Street is going to be slightly slower during school zone hours, but we’re probably only talking by a minute or two,” Cr Hayes said.

“School zone hours are well before workers travel home in the afternoon, and traffic in the morning usually goes at a slower rate anyway with all the cars on the road travelling to work.

“The main thing is that the priority is around the safety of school children, not around a relatively small increase in travel time for drivers.” 

While the decision to expand the existing school zones was made by the NSW Roads and Maritime Service, Wagga City Council will install signs marking the boundaries of the new school zone this week.

The Daily Advertiser understands the new restrictions will come into effect as soon as the new signs are installed. 

Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire said the safety of school students was at the centre of the state government’s decision to expand the school zone. 

“Student safety is paramount, which is why the new zone is being installed – so kids can get to and from school safely,” Mr Maguire said.

“The purpose of the school zone extension is to provide extra protection to the large number of students who cross Bourke Street each day to attend Mount Austin High School.”