Car snarl to ease

A MUCHmaligned traffic troublespot outside a Pakenham school is about to get a fix that residents say is long overdue.
A new car park will be built at the Pakenham Hills Primary School in a $161,562 project to ease congestion problems caused by the area’s rapid growth.
Parents and teachers have long been concerned about safety as cars park along busy roads to drop children off and pick them up after school.
Pleas for change have been heard by state and local authorities.
The State Government has agreed to fully fund a new car park that should be ready for the start of school next year.
A delighted local mum Patricia Harris welcomed the move, announced at Cardinia Shire Council’s meeting last Monday.
Mrs Harris, who lobbied council for months and even suggested her own design for the car park fix, said it showed that communitybased lobbying could achieve results.
“It’s a real safety issue, there are more and more cars and trucks using the roads around the school, parents need room to pull over and pick up and drop off their children,” Mrs Harris said.
“My children attend the school and my youngest will be starting there next year so it’s very close to my heart,” she said.
Central Ward councillor Brett Owen said the project was great news for everybody associated with the Pakenham Hills Primary School.
The council last Monday appointed Tribuzi Contractors to construct the 20space car park.
The council and the school had put in a joint request for funding from the Department of Education and Training.
“This has been a problem for several years and it is a great result,” Cr Owen said.
Cr Owen paid tribute to the efforts of Mrs Harris who he said had led lobby efforts.
He also acknowledged the work of mayor Kate Lempriere who had also been a strong advocate for improvements to the car parking arrangements.
The project will be funded under a Student Safety Initiative.
Cr Graeme Legge said the car park was a good result to a difficult problem that had not easily been resolved.
The council and the Department of Education and Training had negotiated for a number of years before reaching agreement.
“It’s been a concern for several years, this is a good outcome. The end result is going to be really worthwhile,” Cr Legge said.
Cr Lempriere said it was a wonderful result.
Work on the new car park, which will include two disabled parking bays, is expected to begin in early January.
The work will last about three weeks to complete.