Residents and holiday makers across the region are being encouraged to pay extra attention when travelling on local roads.
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Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has once again partnered with child pedestrian and road safety foundation, Little Blue Dinosaur to reinforce this message by installing around 160 bright and colourful ‘Holiday Time: Slow Down Kids Around’ and ‘Hold my Hand’ road safety signs.
The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation works to educate and protect children around roads, teaching them about the ever-present dangers, and using signs to better inform drivers and pedestrians.
The ‘Holiday Time’ campaign was established in 2014 on the Central Coast after the tragic death of Tom McLaughlin in a pedestrian accident during a family holiday.
The campaign is now run by 42 councils across four states in Australia. Little Blue Dinosaur Founder and CEO Michelle McLaughlin said she was delighted Port Macquarie-Hastings Council had been so supportive of the child pedestrian road safety campaign.
“Holiday destinations like Port Macquarie are most often a new and unfamiliar environment for visiting children and their families,” said Mrs McLaughlin.
“Parents must have a conversation with their children and go through how they are expected to behave when near busy roads they are not used to.
“With a staggering 950 people killed on Australian roads alone already in 2018, amongst those young children, it’s now more important than ever to promote the pedestrian road safety message,” Mrs McLaughlin said.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Mayor Peta Pinson said council is pleased to be able to support the initiative once again this year.
“Signage will be placed in high pedestrian areas that get very busy over the holiday period including Town Beach, Flynns Beach, Lake Cathie and North Haven,” said Mayor Pinson.
“With holiday season upon us and many visitors flocking to our region, it’s important that we all take extra care on our roads, taking note of the simple mantra: Holiday Time: Slow Down, Kids Around.”
The Little Blue Dinosaur safety signage will remain in place during the school holiday period.
