Children's lives are being put at risk walking to school along Hawkesbury Road, say concerned residents of Birdwood Avenue and surrounds.
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The residents want a footpath on the eastern side of Hawkesbury Rd from the intersection with Birdwood Avenue, and leading to Ellison Public to the south and St Columba's Catholic College and St Thomas Aquinas Primary to the north - a distance of about 700 metres.
Children are walking on the edge of the very busy road and parents with prams are forced to walk on the road, due to the uneven surface by the edge of the road.
"When you walk by the side of the road, traffic will honk at you, and not in a friendly way," said Cathy Ross.
There is a footpath on the opposite side of the road, but in the peak school drop-off times, it's near impossible to cross the road. She's resorted to wielding a stick in an attempt to stop traffic to cross the road with children.
Katrina Gabriel has two children at Ellison Public and one in a pram. "It would be nice to walk to school more often, but it's difficult," she said.
Kylie Riddell also lives in Birdwood Avenue and has two children at St Thomas Aquinas Primary.
"They have the opportunity to ride to school but they don't because of the track," she said. Instead, she'll drive her kids the short distance to school because of the safety concerns.
The residents approached ward three Independent councillor Shae Foenander, voicing their concerns.
At the July council meeting, she will ask the council to engage with other levels of government to fix the problem
Hawkesbury Road is a state road, and Cr Foenander and her fellow ward three councillors, Mick Fell and Daniel Myles, want the state government to respond to this need.
"When it rains, the muddy state of the dirt footpath near the Birdwood Avenue intersection means kids are walking on the edge of the road with passing traffic being just inches away. Parents with strollers are forced to walk on the road," Cr Foenander said.
"As a parent, I would hate to think that my children were forced to walk on a busy road during wet weather to get to school. It just isn't right. No parent should have to send their child to school fearing for their safety".
The councillors would also like to see a pedestrian island installed.
Liberal Upper House MP Shayne Mallard responded by urging the council to apply for a grant.
"The state provides millions of dollars in grants to local councils for road safety improvements, based on applications made by local councils," he said.
"Recently the NSW Coalition government awarded grants to Blue Mountains City Council for road safety improvements at Blackheath and Katoomba.
"I invite the council and councillors to apply through the next grants process for this project if it is a council priority."
