Boy hit by car outside St Edmund's College petitions for pedestrian overpass on Canberra Avenue
St Edmund's College students Aiden Stuart and Aaron Way were hit by the allegedly stolen car while on the median strip of Canberra Avenue on the morning of March 28.
Six weeks after the almost-fatal incident, the ACT government announced it would install a new traffic light pedestrian crossing on the road.
But Aiden and his mother, Nektaria Stuart, are concerned that solution will not offer enough protection, so they are petitioning the ACT Legislative Assembly to construct a pedestrian bridge over the road instead.
Ms Stuart said that while what happened to her son was "a freak accident", it could easily happen again.
"They walked the footpath from Kingston from the bus stop, they stopped on the median strip — they were a metre off the road when he came off the road towards them.
"If some person who doesn't want to be a decent human being wakes up [and] gets behind a wheel, that's going to happen again if those children are on that road."
Ms Stuart said to see an overpass constructed in response to the petition would be wonderful.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson, who is sponsoring the petition, said the government needed to act on the community's concerns.
"[Aiden said], 'Look, a pedestrian lights crossing wouldn't have saved me, so what if something like that happens again and we end up with a death, or we end up with another serious injury?'" he said.
"He's calling for an overpass, it looks like a sensible solution. And if it's a question of funds, then we've got to talk about priorities."
Mr Emerson said there had been "clear calls" for a footbridge over the area for the last 30 years.
"It is concerning — and we've heard that from the principal of St Edmund's College, we've heard it from St Clare's College, and the entire school community around them.
"When you've got clear calls for action, you've got to really respect those and listen to those."
The ACT government has been contacted for comment.
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