Petition calls for better paths to school

MEMBERS of the Mount Duneed Regional Primary School community are calling for better paths and improved safety for pupils walking to and from the school.

South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman and the City of Greater Geelong are pointing fingers about which of them is responsible for addressing the problem.

A petition from the “parent community of Mount Duneed”, hosted on Mr Cheeseman’s website, claims the City of Greater Geelong has “rebuffed the pleas” of the school’s community “for many years” to improve the surrounding road infrastructure “and has been neglectful in its duty to provide safe passage for the children and families attending the school”.

“The condition of the roads and access to school is now in a critical state. The near-misses of children versus cars, parents with prams slipping and falling, and unpassable access for vehicles and buses are a regular, if not daily, occurrence,” the petition states.

“Instead of acknowledging the dangerous conditions and taking action, ongoing correspondence with COGG confirms they are unwilling to provide the necessary measures to ensure our children’s safety during the time of surrounding development along Feehans and Williams Road.”

The petition urges the city to provide temporary paths and safe crossing access to the school from the neighbouring housing estates in Feehans and Williams roads, and to create better parking conditions for cars.

Mr Cheeseman spoke about the issue in state Parliament late last month.

“The call for action by Mount Duneed Regional Primary School Parents is justified,” he said last week.

“Ensuring our children get to school safe is of the utmost priority.

“The inaction of the City of Greater Geelong is insulting to students and their families who have had near-misses with motor vehicles and are subject to dangerous road conditions daily.”

In response, the city’s acting director of city services David Greaves said the city carried out “significant works” on Williams Road outside the school in 2017 to provide increased parking and pedestrian paths.

“We’ve provided ongoing support and advice to the Mt Duneed Regional Primary School, its community and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development about safe access for students.

“Previously, there was space within the school grounds for students to be dropped off and picked up. However, this space was built over to accommodate the school’s growth.”

He said the city believed the best way to address the problem would be to restore a site inside the school for picking up and dropping off pupils.

“We have been seeking Mr Cheeseman’s support to advocate to the Department of Education to invest in safety measures to enable onsite pick up/drop off points since May last year.

“There is council-managed DELWP land at the rear of the school that would be suitable for a carpark, and we have prepared concept plans and estimates for this work.

“Unfortunately, no state funding to deliver this has been provided to date.”

He said the roads servicing the school were scheduled for redevelopment as part of the ongoing construction of the Armstrong Creek Growth Area.South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman (fourth from right) with pupils from Mount Duneed Regional Primary School.