UNREALISTIC AND DANGEROUS: Lily, Mackenzie, Natalie and Felicity Palazzi
PARENTS with children at Orange Public School infants department describe the parking situation near the school as mayhem and are calling for Orange City Council to extend the unrealistic five minute parking limit outside the school.
Natalie Palazzi said the lack of parking was one of the main reasons she took her children out of Orange Public, as she was forced to park too far away.
“I’ve got five children and it used to kill me ... you’re not in and out in five minutes,” she said.
“The five minutes is unrealistic, I’d love one of the council members to do it within five minutes and not get a parking ticket.”
Parent, Peta Gover said the situation was dangerous with drivers regularly seen double-parked to drop off their children at the school because of the lack of spaces.
“A lot of kids do run away from their parents it is quite a fear, I’d rather drop kids at the door and get a ticket,” she said.
Both women agree a 15 minute parking limit would be better and also feel more parking is needed.
“They could convert the old netball court into a parking lot for the school, the little one [car park] doesn’t do anything,” Ms Gover said.
Ms Palazzi said council should introduce 45 degree angle parking in Torpy Street to relieve the parking situation.
She said she was often forced to arrive at the school half an hour earlier to get a parking spot at the nearby netball courts.
“We hated to go down there it was just horrible,” she said.
Ms Gover suggested Torpy Street needed a designated crossing or a set of traffic lights to make crossing the road safer for families.
“The kids are young they don’t understand that it’s a big road,” she said.
“In Anson Street right out the front there’s a roundabout that people zoom around.
“The poor lollypop man is constantly yelling at people.”
Council spokesman Nick Redmond said council would consider changes to the standard “kiss-and-drop” zone as designated by the Roads and Maritime Services.
“If people are slightly longer than five minutes but stay with their cars they won’t be fined,” he said.
“If people want to put a submission to us about why it needs to be changed we’re happy to look at it.”
clare.colley@ruralpress.com
