The proposed relocation of the Road Safety School is an initiative between the Council, the State Government and South Australia Police (SAPOL) to make way for the NRAH site and activate Bonython Park through weekday programming and community use on weekends and school holidays.
What are the benefits of relocating the Road Safety Centre?
Moving it to a more public setting will open it up to the wider community and help spread the road safety message.
It will activate Bonython Park on weekdays, which currently has very little weekday activity, with 15,000 students expected to attend the facility each year.
It will be accessible to the public outside of its programmed times, creating another unique play element in the City and contributing to Council's overall vision of activating Bonython Park.
It will be accessible for children with disabilities – it will be wheelchair accessible through appropriately graded paths and 'roadways' and be fully fenced to support children with intellectual impairments who may be at risk of injury without a secure environment.
Particular attention has been paid to the design of the facility to make sure it will smoothly integrate into Bonython Park and be an integral part of the Activity Hub.
The track will be part of Council's planned creation of an activity hub in the park, which includes plans for a rejuvenated kiosk, new play spaces, shaded picnic areas, model boat pond and continuation of the Adelaide Park Lands Trail.
Will any trees / vegetation be removed / affected?
Existing trees have been incorporated into the design to create an environment that will support use of the facility through natural shade.
There are 4 significant tress on the site that will be protected.
There are also numerous historic olive trees to the west of the site that will be protected and again utilised to create a supportive environment for school groups and families using the facility year round.
What background information is there about the road safety centre?
It has played an important role in the education and development of hundreds of thousands of young South Australians for more than 40 years.
More than 500,000 children have visited the school so far, with an average of 15,000 pre-primary and primary school children attending each year, including children with physical and mental disabilities.
The School teaches children the appropriate way to cross busy roads, use footpaths and cycle on the road.
Sessions commence in a classroom and are followed by a supervised practical component of riding bicycles on the mock roadway.
