Member for Macquarie Fields Anoulack Chanthivong MP and the Bardia Public School community are celebrating the start of works for a long-awaited set of traffic lights to help improve road and pedestrian safety.

Mr Chanthivong joined delighted parents, carers and students at Bardia Public School on Friday 11 November to celebrate the long and hard-fought community win, which is set to significantly improve road safety at the intersection of Arthur Allen Drive and MacDonald Road. 

“Since 2019, I’ve been visiting Bardia Public School and calling on the Liberal Government to fast-track the traffic lights to avert potential tragedy,” Mr Chanthivong said.

“The start of works is the green light we have all been eagerly awaiting, and I would like to thank the Bardia Public School community, particularly the Bardia Public School P&C, for their continued advocacy, tenacity and determination to see these works take shape.

“Safety has consistently been raised with me as an issue that Bardia Public School families take seriously, yet their concerns have fallen on deaf ears for more than three years,” Mr Chanthivong said.

Community concerns regarding road and pedestrian safety around Bardia Public School have been ongoing since the redeveloped school opened in 2019. In a few short years, the school’s population has tripled – from 300 students to more than 1000 students.

“It is clear from my visits to Bardia Public School that the Liberal Government has failed to provide the necessary infrastructure to support the suburb’s growth,” Mr Chanthivong said.

“The roads surrounding the school are choked with congestion, parking is severely limited and parents are frustrated by daily dangerous driver behaviour.

“The good news is that families can now look forward to walking their children safely across the road at the traffic lights in early 2023.

“The works underway signal a green light for safety that families have long been waiting for and rightly deserve.”