Mater Maria enrolment increase subject to conditions after resident complaints
Mater Maria College in Warriewood has been given permission to increase enrolments by 30 per cent, amid concerns from some residents about traffic and parking.
Northern Beaches Council issued a deferred commencement consent to the school in November last year to add an extra 250 students on campus, expanding from 850 to 1,100.
The co-educational Catholic secondary school has been at 5 Lodge Road since 1964, with a pedestrian access on Angophora Circuit.
Council’s traffic impact assessment found that the school community – mostly cars with P plates – used about 50 per cent of on-street parking in the streets surrounding the school. The report said this showed a ‘larger reliance on private vehicles’ than was usual for secondary schools.
Several residents on Angophora Circuit wrote to oppose the expansion, with one saying students parked in the four-hour zones then swapped spaces with each other at lunch time.
Some complained about the ‘traffic jam’ on the circuit in the afternoons, as students tried to leave the area. Another spoke about parents using residential drive ways to drop off their children.
The college has proposed a Green Travel Plan (GTP) initiative, which aims to increase the use of public transport by staff and students. As part of this, the college will issue student parking permits, which the Council has capped at 50.
To address residents’ concerns, Council has issued a ‘deferred commencement consent’, with several conditions to be met before approval of the relevant development application.
One of the Council conditions is an annual parking review for two years. This will evaluate the GTP’s success, looking at streets with a 400m walking catchment of the school.
Council’s traffic engineer said in his report that while the GTP was impressive, ‘behavioural changes are difficult to achieve’.
Mater Maria must also construct a footpath for drop-offs and pick-ups at the cul-de-sac end of Forest Road by 31 January.
Council rejected a proposal for enrolments to be increased by a further 10 per cent to 1210.
By Michelle Giglio