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31 MARCH, 2026
Easter Egg-citement (Damjan Janevski) 540306_01
Egg-citement is brewing as kids across Melbourne’s north dream of what chocolatey goodness the Easter bunny will deliver this Sunday. Many will spend their weekend filling up on sweet treats, baking hot cross buns and attending Easter celebrations with their families. Emily, 10 (pictured) is ready to hunt down any chocolate eggs the Easter bunny leaves behind and fill her basket to the brim.
School crossing plea By Laura Michell Witnessing a young girl being pulled out of the path of an oncoming car on McLeans Road earlier this year prompted a Bundoora father to petition Whittlesea council to reinstate the road’s school crossing. Adrian Aiello was taking his son, Harvey, to Northside Christian College when he witnessed a father who was crossing McLeans Road from Lucy Court with two young children suddenly lunge forward and grab his daughter by the collar as she stepped forward into the path of an oncoming car. Mr Aiello said the prep-aged girl and
her father were shaken and terrified by the incident, as were he and his son. Later that morning, he contacted Whittlesea council and Bundoora MP Colin Brooks to raise concerns about the safety of students crossing McLeans Road. “The initial response from council referenced that the crossing had been removed in 2012 due to low usage, with a similar conclusion again in 2025,” he said. “To be frank, it’s very difficult to accept ‘feasibility’ as a barrier when we’re talking about the safety of children.” In response, he launched a petition calling for the school crossing to be reinstated. Mr Aiello said Northside Christian
College has been incredibly supportive of his petition, which has been signed by more than 600 people and tabled during council’s 17 March meeting. “The response from the community has been huge. People are genuinely worried, and many have said they don’t feel safe allowing their children to walk or ride to school,” he said. Mr Aiello said the incident early this year left him feeling like an accident involving a child crossing McLeans Road is imminent. “Like many families, we walk to school. After the fi rst couple of weeks, Harvey wanted to start riding, but I simply can’t allow him to cross McLeans Road independently,” he said,
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“Even now, I follow him in the car just to ensure he gets across safely. That alone says a lot.” Bundoora Ward councillor Daniela Zinni has supported the petition and said school enrolments are higher than they were in 2012 and more pedestrians were trying to cross McLeans Road to access the school, tram stops and Bundoora Square shopping centre. “The Northside Christian College community really do need this crossing as soon as possible and they deserve to be heard and action taken on this,” she said. The petition has been referred to council chief executive Craig Lloyd for consideration.