By Bonny Burrows
Officer Primary School parents say a shortage of parking is leading to traffic mayhem at pick-up and drop-off times.
Tivendale Road may be quiet during off-peak, but parents Kate Thompson and Joanne Yeats said it is an accident waiting to happen between 8am and 9am and 2pm and 4pm weekdays.
Motorists travelling on the opposite site of the road to dodge idling cars dropping off children and heavy trucks squeezing through the narrow roads are just some of the daily traffic hazards, they said.
They believe the situation is partly due to the addition of two newer schools in the area and a lack of dedicated school parking that forces most parents to use neighbouring businesses car parks.
Ms Thompson choses to drop her children off and pick them up around the corner along the Princes Highway.
“It may not be the best thing to do but it’s probably safer in a way to let them walk instead of battling the traffic,” she said.
Parents want a solution, and Cardinia Shire Council is “aware of the ongoing congestion issues”, however it said there was only so much it could do.
“There are physical limitations with what can be accommodated in the current road layout at this point in time,” Cardinia Shire Council’s manager of infrastructure services Andrew Barr said.
Mr Barr said Tivendale Road would be reconstructed and widened as identified in the council’s Officer Precinct Structure Plan, “however the timing of future upgrades to Tivendale Road will be largely dependent on interest and investment by private developers”.
Parking at primary school sites was managed by the Department of Education and Training, he said.
“Council is the responsible authority for managing Tivendale Road to maintain a safe suitable road environment for all road users, however this does not include the school properties,” Mr Barr said.
The Department of Education and Training did not respond to questions from the Gazette.
