The Town of Cambridge has become the first Local Government in Western Australia to join forces with the national not-for-profit Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation to help boost child pedestrian safety around its playgrounds, parks, and busy roadways.
The Town has installed metal ‘Hold My Hand’ signs created by the Foundation in visible areas throughout Cambridge.
Town of Cambridge Mayor Gary Mack welcomed the Town’s involvement in the project.
“The safety of our children and preventing child road trauma in the Town is of vital importance. Working with the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation will put pedestrian road safety at the top of all our minds,” Mayor Mack said.
The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation was established in 2014 following the death of Sydney mother Michelle McLaughlin’s four-year-old son, Tom McLaughlin due to a pedestrian-motor vehicle crash whilst on a family holiday.
Since 2014, Michelle McLaughlin has worked tirelessly to promote the issue of child pedestrian safety, facilitating the installation of road safety signs in 74 Local Government areas across Australia.
“From 2013 to January 2023, 587 children aged 0 to 16 years were involved in a road fatality crash, with 22 per cent of these fatalities occurring when the child was a pedestrian or a cyclist.
“On average, one child per week dies in Australia this way, and it’s entirely preventable,” she said.
“It is vital that parents understand why they must hold hands with their children in traffic environments.”
Enabling students to safely walk and ride to local schools reduces car trips, congestion, and parking pressure, as well as improves health outcomes through increased physical activity.
To address safety concerns and allow the redeployment of Traffic Wardens to less dangerous or unmanned crossings, WALGA’s State Budget Submission highlights the need for safer student crossings, calling for investment in the necessary infrastructure to convert 30 Children’s Crossings on high-volume, high-speed roads to signalled pedestrian crossings.
For more information about the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation, visit www.littlebluedinosaur.org
Acknowledgement of Country
WALGA acknowledges the continuing connection of Aboriginal people to Country, culture and community. We embrace the vast Aboriginal cultural diversity throughout Western Australia, including Boorloo (Perth), on the land of the Whadjuk Nyoongar People, where WALGA is located and we acknowledge and pay respect to Elders past and present.