Traffic Management Update

If it was possible to start from the beginning and totally redesign the current roadways and paths infrastructure at Dominic College it would look considerably different to the current arrangements. Traffic would be kept to the perimeter of the College to ensure the current mixing of cars, buses and most importantly student and parent pedestrians was minimised. However the current infrastructure has been gradually pieced together over the decades with a focus of ensuring adequate vehicle access to the site as opposed to the safe and efficient drop off of car and bus transported students.

A majority of the concerns raised, relates to the afternoon pick up period. For the rest of the day, including the morning drop off, the flow of traffic is smooth and safe. Dominic College has engaged the services of a traffic management consultant to help resolve the traffic congestion currently experienced at peak times. This is a complicated process given the varied needs and priorities of parents who drive to collect their children as well as the arrival of buses, the end of day movement of staff and the need to find a cost effective solution. We expected this process to be completed by term four and hope to begin some major improvement works over the summer holidays.

In discussions with the traffic management consultant he has indicated that we have a large amount of parking compared to other similar schools. He has also indicated that a majority of the problems that we are experiencing are being caused by driver behaviour and that if drivers were willing to accept some short delays around peak pick up times then the current traffic management plan should work adequately for Dominic College.

The current traffic management plan directs traffic as follows:

• Parents who want to access the K-4 carpark must access it by circling around through the gravel carpark and turning left into the K-4 carpark whilst driving towards the exit of the College. This is necessary as trying to directly turn right into the K-4 carpark at peak times has resulted in blocking all other traffic including buses from entering and exiting the site. Please observe the safety cones.
• Access to the traffic loop around the Grantleigh administration building is limited to buses only during the afternoon pick up to minimise the risk of collision between cars, buses and most importantly students.
• Queuing on the main driveway to access the K-4 carpark is only permitted if no other carpark spaces are available but you must not under any circumstances leave your car unattended whilst in the driveway.

A minor modification to the entrance of the gravel carpark has been completed during the term 2 holidays. This modification will realign the entrance to enable a smoother entry and better visibility to observe the crossing. Please ensure that you do not park over the new entrance way at the start of term 3. We will also be instructing staff to no longer park in the gravel car park to maximise the number of spaces available for the afterschool pick up. Both of these improvements will be in place by the start of term 3 and we hope they provide some improvements to traffic flow.

So in the interim I need to ask for your patience and willingness to adopt the follow suggestions into your driving behaviour when on site at Dominic College during the pickup and drop off times.

1. Be patient, considerate of others and do not take risks. Please allow for possible delays of up to ten minutes during pick up times, especially on Wednesdays when both Kinders are at school.
2. If arriving early, please be patient and be prepared to wait longer as the traffic does not start to move until after 3:15pm once the students have left the classroom and start to arrive at their pick up points.
3. Please do not drive on the wrong side of the maindriveway or perform awkward manoeuvres around the safety bollards near the entrance to the K-4 carpark. This is extremely dangerous and puts our students and other parents at significant risk of a collision.
4. If there is a free parking space, please use it instead of queuing on the main drive. The queuing of cars trying to enter the K-4 carpark is a major source of delay for other drivers. Minimising the length of this queue by taking the first available car park would significantly help improve the flow of traffic.
5. Never leave your car unattended if queuing on the main drive. Parking of cars on the main drive is strictly prohibited. This creates significant delays for all other road users and leads to other drivers taking unnecessary risks avoiding inappropriately parked vehicles.
6. Consider arriving after classes have finished. Peak traffic congestion occurs between 3:10pm and 3:20pm. So if you can time your arrival towards the end of the peak time then you are less likely to encounter lengthy delays and achieve a much quicker and safer pick up of your child.
7. Please follow the instructions of staff. On the days when traffic is being monitored please follow the staff member's instructions without question. They are trying to improve the safety and flow of traffic and would appreciate your assistance in achieving this goal.

As always, constructive feedback is always welcomed so please do not hesitate to contact James Lambert or myself if you would like to further discuss the current traffic management issues. As major changes to the current road infrastructure are not planned until the summer break, by us all adopting the above suggestions, the current situation should remain manageable until the end of the year.

Dylan Chivers

Business Manager

Download Traffic Management Map