By Jessica Anstice
Parents are pushing for solutions to resolve the issue of insufficient parking at Kooweerup Primary School.
Built-up frustration led parent, Jane Moorhouse, to start up a petition in a bid to draw the council’s attention and solve the issue.
To date, more than 300 people have signed the online petition.
With limited parking spaces for parents dropping off or picking up children, drivers are continually parking in the bus area, on the grass adjacent to the school and stopping in no-parking zones.
One parent, Kellie Stone, claims Moody Street where the school is located, is a “nightmare” between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.
“There is nowhere near enough legal parking,” she said.
“A number of spots are blocked off at drop off and pick up time so the bus can park there – understandable but it leaves no spots.
“It is an issue for me because the street is insanely busy and some days my son will have to wait at school for 10 to 15 minutes after the bell just so I can find a park which makes picking my daughter up at the high school even later.”
Ms Stone explained that the only parking is on Moody Street itself and is filled before 2.50pm, but the bell doesn’t ring until 3.15pm.
Mother of four, Courtney MacGregor, believes 45 car spaces, with eight eliminated for the bus zone and one disabled park, is inadequate and does not cater appropriately for the school’s growing population.
“There are nowhere near enough car parking spots available for the number of children that attend Kooweerup Primary School and nowhere near enough for the growth this school, and the area as whole, is experiencing,” Ms MacGregor said.
“Subdivisions and estates keep appearing but nothing seems to be being put into place to accommodate the population growth of families coming into the area and therefore the local school – it’s an absolute joke.
“The lack of spots leads to congestion and chaos for students, pedestrians and drivers. It is beyond hazardous and quite frankly an accident waiting to happen.”
Not only does Ms MacGregor think there is a lack of car parking spaces, she also believes the spaces that are available are too narrow.
“The car parks are narrow and shallow to try and squeeze as many as possible in,” she explained.
“Due to the width of the parks it is difficult to pull in and out in addition to the difficulty experienced in trying to safely enter and exit vehicles. If you have a pram or wheelchair it is a living nightmare.
“The car parks aren’t very deep so bonnets, boots and ute trays constantly overhang the footpath, making it only suitable for single file and impractical for children learning to ride, let alone the complexity of trying to navigate a pram down that stretch of footpath at pick up and drop off times.”
An Education Department spokeswoman said the school has worked closely with Cardinia Shire Council to examine traffic issues raised by parents.
Cardinia Shire Council has been contacted for comment.
