Loreto Normanhurst School Redevelopment (Concept Proposal and Stage 1)

I am a long time resident of Osborn Road Normanhurst and after a not too recent car accident in front of my house find it necessary to let you know about the traffic problems my neighbour and I are experiencing due to traffic volume and speed. I was returning from work one morning and was not able to enter my driveway on Osborn due to mainly school traffic banked up at the lights. Sometimes I would have to wait out till the lights turn green but as a result cars bank up behind me back into Pennant Hills Road.
On occasion someone will be able to leave a gap for me but it is incredibly dangerous due to cars  travelling (sometimes at inappropriate speed) in the left turn lane to Pennant Hills Road . It was on one such occasion as I was about to enter my driveway when a car travelling in the left turn lane struck the side of my vehicle. He was obviously doing more than 40kmh.

My neighbour had a utility run into the back of her car after She had reversed from her driveway. The utility came over the hill and hit my neighbour's car while stationary. He "didn't see her.

I find it  impossible to exit our driveways if the lights at Pennant Hills Road are green because of the speed of cars heading northeast from Osborn Road to the lights. They are definitely travelling at more than 50kph.

Due to the increased traffic from Loreto over the years and this happens not just Monday - Friday but Saturday sports days as well. My neighbour and I have to try to judge times to be able to access our driveways.  Traffic queues back up Osborn Road from the lights.

Given the above it would be appreciated if Planning Committee could investigate  some form of traffic calming in Osborn Road e.g. a speed bump and perhaps also something that would enable us to access our driveways safely 24/7.  I acknowledge the school was there when I moved in however it has grown substantially over the years and I understand proposes further growth. During that time there has not been any upgrade to the local roads to benefit local residents.

See attachment

I strongly object to this proposal, including the amendments, which in my view do nothing to alleviate my previously expressed concerns.

I have lived at my current address for over 40 years. In the last few years there has been a noticeable decrease in Loreto's efforts to communicate with and alleviate the concerns of local residents, and an increase in problems associated in particular with parking and traffic. The significant increase in student number proposed by SSD-8966 will further exacerbate these problems and totally ignore the concerns of local residents.

The proposed increase in student intake includes a significant increase in younger students, as well as a significant increase in Year 12 students. Both these factors, as well as the increase in teacher numbers, will significantly increase the number of cars coming into the area as well as the demand for parking. The amended proposal includes increased parking at the school, but this will not reduce the impact of the number of cars entering and exiting the Osborn Road intersection. The proposed link road between Osborn Road and Mt Pleasant Avenue is not a solution - rather, it will further exacerbate this problem, as there will be more cars entering and exiting Osborn Road.

Loreto's sense of entitlement is quite overwhelming. Osborn Road is not a private road belonging to Loreto. It is a narrow local street, ending in a cul-de-sac, with five feeder streets; residents of these six streets have no alternative but to enter and exit via Osborn Road. Emergency vehicles needing to enter or exit any of these streets during peak school pick up and drop off times would have no chance of making a rapid response. The Osborn Road/Pennant Hills Road/Normanhurst Road intersection, in spite of the traffic lights, is also a somewhat tricky intersection, with traffic turning right from both minor roads having to give way to traffic crossing Pennant Rills Road from these side streets, a requirement that many drivers seem unaware of.

The various traffic reports commissioned by Loreto purport to demonstrate that the streets near the school currently work satisfactorily, but this is not the lived experience of local residents. Peak time school traffic frequently blocks residents' access to their homes. I have also observed on a number of occasions traffic queued on Pennant Hills Road in both directions, waiting to turn into Osborn Road, and also cars coming from Normanhurst Road, not realising that traffic in Osborn Road is not moving, being stuck in the middle of Pennant Hills Road after the lights have changed. These problems also occur when there is a school event, including sport on Saturdays. The statement that this intersection "is shown to perform at an acceptable level ..." leads me to ask the question - acceptable to whom?

The redevelopment application also makes reference to a green travel plan. It is not clear what this plan entails. There is also mention of a shift away from private vehicle use, but no indication of how this shift will be achieved. In addition, the question must be asked - why has Loreto not implemented such a plan already? Concrete action to reduce school traffic on local streets now would at least demonstrate that Loreto is serious about trying to reduce the impact on local residents, and that such a plan is effective.

My main concern regarding the Loreto development is the increase in traffic on Mount Pleasant Avenue (MPA), especially its effect on the intersection of MPA and Pennant Hills Rd (PHR).
Currently, I daily use the right-turn option from MPA onto PHR as part of my daily commute and for dropping off my children to their schools and preschools. I am aware of the intention to make the MPA-PHR intersection a left turn only. Though this may have the effect of reducing delays at the MPA-PHR intersection (currently there are times when I will wait more than 3 minutes waiting to turn right), I believe this will then have the following effects:
- increase the occurrence of drivers performing illegal U-turns at the traffic lights (at PHR-Osborn-Normanhurst intersection)
- increase the occurrence of drivers speeding through amber lights (at this same intersection as mentioned above) in order to compensate for the delay cause by not being able to turn right at the MPA-PHR intersection.
- unacceptable increase of traffic onto Normanhurst Rd (outside of Normanhurst Public School) and nearby local roads - which are already congested by normal school drop-offs and pick-ups - as drivers attempt to head north having turned left out of MPA.

Additionally, there would need to be substantial upgrade to MPA - e.g widening of the road and proper guttering/water management added to both sides of the road - to cope with increased traffic. Related, a change to current permissible parking areas to allow for consistent two-way movement of traffic along MPA, particularly along areas adjacent to Loreto's boundary.

Please see attached for details.

The bulk & scale of the proposal is inappropriate in its presentation to the residences across Mt. Pleasant Avenue to the east.
The residents to the ease will perceive one long built form ranging in height from 2 to 4 storey's in the proposal's presentation on the eastern elevation. There is no articulation or design in the eastern elevation of the development that would mitigate the proposals bulk & scale or make its character at all compatible with the residential area to the east.
Landscaping is proposed in the eastern elevation, but new plantings take years to grow and inappropriate built form should not rely on landscaping for screening: KRSLOVIC HOMES PTY. LTD. v. KU-RING-GAI COUNCIL (2005) NSWLEC 192 @ 39. Landscaping should not be a panacea to try to safeguard the streetscape (or the neighbouring properties) from he bulk & scale of the proposed development.
The proponent also refers to reliance on existing landscaping, but there is very limited existing landscaping along Mt Pleasant Ave. frontage to the subject site.
The sun sets over existing buildings to the west of our property and we are concerned that the scale of this development will block the enjoyment of the sunset.
It may be noted that while the inter solstice 3pm shadow diagram shows shadows intruding into the front footpaths/yards of some eastern residences, it is evident from the diagram and the comparatively lower scale of the existing proposal that between3pm & sunset many of the residences will ultimately lose natural light they currently enjoy in their front yards as a result of the bulk & scale of this proposal.
The building is largely of concrete & glass construction, which (combined with its bulk& scale) is inconsistent with the fine grain character of the residents to the east. The proposal as more the appearance of a commercial development or hotel.
The noise assessment is inadequate, in terms of its assessment of the potential amenity impacts from noise for residents in the homes to the east.
There is no plan showing the sensitive receiver locations that have been utilised to undertake a comparison with the noise criteria (only a plan showing the 2 noise loggers). The noise assessment talks of noise levels at "residences" to the east only in general terms, without identifying exactly where sensitive receivers have been identified for the purpose of the assessment.
The noise assessment report already identifies exceedances against the evening criterion for residences by the predicted noise from the " Auditorium-Recital' and Multi use Hall-Live Music & Patrons (see Table 5-6p25). The report suggests that this can be mitigated by way of a plan of management, but these exceedances should have been dealt with by way of a good design in the first place, rather than relying on a plan of management to be developed in the future that could be unenforcecble or unsuitable for managing impacts from these exceedances on properties in Mt Pleasant Ave.
The noise assessment does not appear to consider cumulative potential noise from night time functions(for example , people arriving or leaving the venue, including associated noise from traffic & parking, and additional pedestrians on Mt Pleasant Ave) or the noise associated with fire alarms at night (including fire drills).
In our experience , fire alarms go off 6-8 times per year from the existing boarding house, which can be heard clearly from our home even though the existing boarding house is much further away than the current proposal,
. I then takes between 6-11minutes for the arrival of the brigade to attend to the alarm, meaning that each of these alarms at night is lengthy and causes noise impacts associated with the arrival of the brigade.
The Architectural plans show a number of outdoor open space courtyards in the eastern setback of the proposal (that is closer to the homes to the east than the building itself) and it is not apparent what assessment has been undertaken of students utilising these areas during the late afternoon & evening. there is also a landscaped roof area proposed adjacent to the year 9 common room. All of these comprise potentially considerable noise sources and it is poor design to place these areas in the eastern setback where they will affect residents of the homes. We already hear noise from the current boarding house.
Further the proposal has been designed with large number of windows of the individual student rooms (both shared and individual) and student common rooms on the eastern elevation of the proposal. These windows face the residences to the east of the proposal. It is not apparent from the acoustic assessment what assumptions have been made about students congregating in common rooms or individual rooms. Thee servery also fronts the eastern elevation and there appear to be windows facing to the east. It is again not apparent whether the acoustic assessment has considered students congregating in the servery as they queue for food.
There are far too many unanswered questions concerning potential noise and the configuration of open space areas ( combined with the exceedances that have already been identified) tend to suggest that this proposal will severely affect the amenity of residents of Mt Pleasant Ave.

The proposed basement carpark is totally inadequate to meet the needs of the students, other residents and employees who will use the proposed boarding facility.
The most convenient parking is M Pleasant Ave. and the traffic report submitted as part of the proposal provides a totally inadequate assessment of the likely impact on parking in the street. The further on street parking will have an adverse impact on the amenity of the residents of Mt Pleasant Ave .

The proposal (according to traffic report p12) to address the shortfall of parking across the site, with a "green travel plan" and the future introduction of 200space car park replacing the P3A car park, ignores he reality of post -COVID travel and the fact that the new car park at P3A will not be convenient for staff and residents of the proposed development..
The assessment of traffic demand in connection with the proposed development also ignores the day-to-day experience of residents and visitors to the school for sports on a Saturday when traffic is worse than Monday-Friday.
It is quite apparent that the proposal has too many problems to be viable in its current form.

Loreto College has a long history of reneging promises and not enforcing council rules on their access to Mount Pleasant Ave.
I can stomach school encroachment but NOT another link road between Mount Pleasant Ave and Osborn Rd, nor the proposal for a traffic signal.
There is already an internal road linking the two streets.
I would raise a previous proposal to widen Osborn Rd (on the school side) which the school objected to on the grounds of ruining street scape. I'm sorry but there is no street scape and the school has not maintained any of it's nature strips. In fact they have completely ruined the verge at the top of the hill on Mount Pleasant Ave by, from what i can tell, illegally dumping gravel so that cars can park perpendicular to the road.

To reiterate, I am completely against a link road and traffic signal.

To: Ms Aditi Coomar, Planning Services, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
GPO Box 39, SYDNEY NSW 2001. ( email: [email protected] )
Attention: Director – Social and Other Infrastructure Assessments.

From: A Resident,

LORETO NORMANHURST SCHOOL REDEVELOPMENT (CONCEPT PROPOSAL AND STAGE 1), 91-93 PENNANT HILLS ROAD NORMANHURST (SSD-8996) – OBJECTION

I am writing to you to lodge the strongest possible objections to this proposal.
Currently, at the current size of 1,150 students, residents already suffer unacceptable traffic chaos anywhere near the drop-off and pick-up times, or during the various special school events and weekend sporting events.
Osborn Road is frequently virtually blocked, there are long queues, and the resulting chaos impacts the five feeder streets, Currawong Avenue, Rivertop Close, Nepean Avenue, Wendy Avenue and Dunbar Close. There is no alternative access or egress whatsoever.
The situation is a tragedy waiting to happen, and sooner or later somebody will die because an ambulance couldn’t get to them in time, or a house will burn down because a fire-brigade unit couldn’t get through in time, and a trivial fire becomes total destruction. If this project continues, the situation will only get worse, and a tragedy certain.
Some of the claims made in the Loreto response to submissions are completely unrealistic. The addition of 200 car park spaces might improve the present situation slightly, but is just a bad joke with respect to the stated future enrolments.
Further, claims made by various ‘experts’, in the past, that the situation at the Osborn Road / Pennant Hills Road / Normanhurst Road intersection was acceptable, have, by experience, been proved to be wholly untrue.

The post development situation will be far worse.
1. Having more students can only create more drop-offs / pickups & hence more traffic chaos. No relatively small increase in car spaces, a through-road, and a green travel plan will fix the resulting traffic chaos.

2. Queuing at the Osborn Road traffic lights will increase, and is a traffic nightmare already. At school arrival and departure times, long traffic queues in Osborn Rd are a regular occurrence, and at peak times corresponding long queues form on Pennant Hills Road. Any increase in student numbers will make the situation worse.

3. All school traffic must inevitably funnel into Osborn Road, and so will inevitably cause a massive logjam of traffic in Osborn Road, with cars either queuing to take the ‘through road’ or driving to the drop-off/ pick-up P3A carpark. Despite all the expert’s modelling and predictions, there cannot possibly be any other outcome.
Further, because of the nature of the area, and the entire district, and the individual users, all the traffic exiting or entering the area must be able to do all possible manoeuvres, right hand turns, left hand turns, or continue straight ahead. Something which is only possible at Osborn Road.

4. ‘Green Travel Plans’ are a series of fantasies – Whilst Loreto Normanhurst makes the ‘Green Travel Plan’ a key point to change travel behaviour, it is unenforceable. As such, a large proportion of school parents, students and staff will continue to commute as they wish, most likely by car.

5. Compromising emergency access – The queuing of traffic in Osborn Road by students and parents waiting to enter and exit P3A carpark could severely compromise emergency vehicle access in the event of bushfires or a medical emergency.

6. This dismal situation is partly the result of bad planning in the distant past, as Osborn Road is far too narrow to be the only feeder route to so many long subsidiary streets. This situation is aggravated by the current so-called “in-fill” policies, resulting in the subdivision of good residential blocks into blocks of far less than adequate size for civilized occupancy and satisfactory upbringing of children. In any case, as protection of remnant Blue Gum High Forest and wildlife is also very important, any suggestion of widening of Osborn Road would be a disastrous blunder for the environment. Also, the amount of widening would be trivial.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal as the increased traffic would be a disaster for residents of Osborn Road, and its five feeder streets. Mt Pleasant Avenue would suffer as well. Ultimately, It could cause somebody’s death, the entire area being a complicated dead-end.

Declaration – I have not made a political donation in the last two years.

Yours sincerely,
A Resident

For many years Loreto Normanhurst has been increasing its size and the scope of its provision. As a neighbour of 24 years, it is frustrating that we are constantly raising traffic as our opposition and the frustration lies in not being believed that Loreto has an impact on our amenity. We live it every day but traffic planners, Councillors and planners dismiss it as " being difficult". Loreto is surrounded by two dead end streets and this is where the problem lies. It is not that the Loreto site is not big enough to develop in the way that they propose but rather it is that the surrounding infrastructure cannot deal with the increased student density proposed for the site. They have outgrown their neighborhood rather than are outgrowing their site. And not only are they not willing to notice that fact they like to make out we are just complainers.
Traffic and the internal road
They have a new plan to address their traffic problems which involves running the traffic through their site, in Osborn Rd and out Mt Pleasant Avenue. It currently takes 45 mins in the afternoon to clear Osborn and that’s with the school at its current site. A significant increase in students is going to exacerbate that situation and put incredible pressure on Osborn Rd, Mt Pleasant Avenue and Pennant Hills road. In the thru road proposal, they will have traffic exiting Mt Pleasant Avenue to the left being banked back by traffic still trying to turn left into Osborn and then tailed backed from Mt Pleasant into the school where the traffic are unable to turn into the school from Osborn given the traffic is not moving. A perfect storm. I laugh out loud at their green plan and note it has had no impact whatsoever in first term. The traffic into and out of the school and around the school is still significant so it seems no one is perhaps coming on their bikes or using their opal cards.
A couple of points on the traffic include:
• Loreto have had a child care centre approved prior to changing their internal traffic idea and exiting traffic out Mount Pleasant Avenue. What is already untenable, will have the 80 or so places of child care traffic plus this new road putting traffic into the street. Did they know they were going to do the internal road when they put the child care centre in but waited until it was approved before seeking approval?
• All traffic will ultimately end up on Pennant Hills Rd. Loreto holds a large street frontage to Pennant Hills Rd. Why can’t they put a new in and out to the ring road all on Pennant Hills rd as that’s where the traffic will end up anyway. With good street design they could plan it in a safe way. And if it isn’t safe then how is it any safer to be coming from the side streets.
• Mt Pleasant ave is difficult to turn out off on a good day due to the location of a brick wall obstructing views. It has a narrow entry into the street and is very difficult to enter when cars are banked back trying to turn out. Put an additional 100 or more cars into this every afternoon and there will be a tragedy.
Boarding school
As an immediate resident of the boarding school, living across from it, I am concerned at its size and its impact on my amenity. The location of windows at the front will remove all privacy I currently have in my garden and within my house as they will be able to look into my house from height.
The removal of trees to build the boarding house will further impact my amenity as heat from the buildings will not be absorbed as it currently is. The size of the building is most concerning as it is not in keeping with our residential street.
The removal of the current off street parking is going to have a knock on effect. Currently around 30 cars park there 6 days per week but when it is curbed and guttered that facility will not be available. to Loreto. Where will those cars park? These cars will park directly on the street and make the current single lane road (when cars are parking) for a longer area. The blind hill will also become an issue as cars park both sides of the curbed street again where there is a narrow road.
In summary I object to the Loreto Development. The neighbourhood does not have the infrastructure to cope with a significant increase to size of school. The traffic problems are not addressed by the internal road plans but rather are exacerbated by it and the boarding house size is concerning from a privacy point of view as well as it is not in keeping with a residential street.

Yours faithfully

Fran Macdonald

I’m OPPOSED to Loreto Normanhurst School’s redevelopment proposal – Application # SSD-8996

Loreto Normanhurst School is a Private Enterprise for Profit located adjacent to two residential streets (Mount Pleasant Avenue (MPA) & Osborn Road) and should not be considered to be of State Significance!

This is a private venture looking to double its current school population to 2,000 which includes an Early Learning Centre and a Primary School to feed into the Secondary School. One can only imagine the CHAOS that the school “drop-off” and “pick-up” that this will create with little to no regard to the safety of not only Loreto’s school children but that of those who attend Normanhurst Public School & Normanhurst Boys school.

Mount Pleasant Ave is a NO THROUGH ROAD!!

Yet it is pivotal to access not only Loreto Normanhurst school but to various Seven Day Adventist operations located at the end of MPA located in the Wahroonga Estate:
• Adventist Aged Care Retirement Village
o Independent Living units
o Nursing Home
o Aged Hostel (Elizabeth Lodge)

These facilities require Delivery (Supply) & Services (garbage/ambulance/fire etc) and to further
exacerbate the situation this is a carpark for visitors and employees to these facilities; also carparking for students attending Avondale University College due to high parking fees imposed by the SANS hospital. All this heavily contributes to the traffic in MPA.

It should be further noted that Loreto in the past has stated that it does not contribute to the traffic in MPA yet teachers and students use the street for parking creating a hazard for residents. Submission to the RMS for traffic lights at MPA & Pennant Hills Road have been rejected with the threat that should the residents persist then the RMS will impose a “No Right-Hand Turn” into Pennant Hills Road. The RMS have also rejected a “Keep Clear” painting of the MPA & Pennant Hills Road intersection to assist MPA traffic to access Pennant Hills Road. . The opening of the North Connex tunnel has alleviated this situation some what but it is already stated that the congestion on Pennant Hills Road will return to pre North Connex volume within 4-5 years.

The proposal of the link road from Osborn Road through to MPA for “drop-off” and “pick-up” is an ill-conceived plan with the presumption that 100’s of cars will look to turn from MPA on to Pennant Hills Road (even worse should the RMS’s threat to impose a “NO Right-Hand Turn” into Pennant Hills Road). There already exists foot traffic which will only increase should approval be granted to this Profit venture and worsen the chances of a fatal incident.

It should further be noted that all traffic studies conducted by Loreto Normanhurst School were done so towards the end of the school year as students in their final years were on study leave or had completed their exams hence the results are biased in favour, once again, to Loreto’s minimal contribution towards the traffic into MPA. It needs to be further noted that during Loreto’s sporting and special events (presentation / Parent- teacher meets) the congestion in MPA is an indescribable chaos; in so much to say some parents have no regards for the residents of MPA parking in driveways to which residents cannot leave their homes. This has occurred on numerous occasions whereby parents have dropped/picked-up children blocking driveways to which one has had to wait for the process to be completed prior to the offending parent moving away from a driveway. Clearly this could well become an incident whereby the child/children being dropped off / picked up run across MPA into the path of another car. Increased student population lends to increased traffic which heightens the probability of an incident.

Loreto Normanhurst School has paid “lip-service” to the concerns of the residents of MPA and Osborn Road saying one thing and then doing another. Residents have objected to the school’s past developments to no compromise and only to watch as the school and its contractors have not adhered to and breached their development conditions. The chaos and disharmony that such a development will cause will be immense, along with the heightened safety issues for all within this community. A guise of providing a state significant service but with an underling basis of PROFIT!!!

I submit my STRONG OBJECTION to this redevelopment proposal.

To: Ms Aditi Coomar, Planning Services, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
GPO Box 39, SYDNEY NSW 2001. ( email: [email protected] )
Attention: Director – Social and Other Infrastructure Assessments.

From:
Normanhurst, NSW, 2076, ( )
Date:6/03/2021.

LORETO NORMANHURST SCHOOL REDEVELOPMENT (CONCEPT PROPOSAL AND STAGE 1), 91-93 PENNANT HILLS ROAD NORMANHURST (SSD-8996) – OBJECTION

I am writing to you to lodge my strong objection to this proposal.

Even now, with the school enrolment at 1,150, the traffic chaos around school drop-off and pick-up times is utterly unacceptable. Sometimes even worse during special school events and weekend sporting events. No increase in enrolments whatever should be considered until the current mess is sorted out.
At these times, Osborn Road is often virtually blocked, and the resulting chaos impacts the five feeder streets, Currawong Ave, Rivertop Close, Nepean Avenue, Wendy Avenue and Dunbar Close. There is no alternative access or egress whatsoever.
Just a few weeks ago, we had the misfortune to be returning home from a medical appointment at school pick-up time. We were north-bound along Pennant Hills Road, and the right hand lane was almost stationary as far back as Dartford road. We assumed there had been a serious accident. At least ten changes of the Osborn Road traffic lights had to occur before we neared the intersection. Once there, we found Osborn Road to be almost full of stationary vehicles. Not more than one or two cars, sometimes none, entered Osborn Road at a light change. Traffic exiting Osborn Road was also seriously obstructed. Only the traffic turning left out of Osborn Road could make reasonable progress.
This situation is a tragedy waiting to happen, and fast response times by emergency vehicles, their access already obstructed, will become quite unacceptable. Heart attacks, strokes or broken limbs cannot be planned in advance to avoid school start and finish times. Also, even now, a minor fire incident could result in a house completely destroyed, or somebody burnt to death, because a fire-brigade unit couldn’t get through in time.
This project can only make a bad situation worse, not better. We could easily lose lives as a result of this chaos. How many people must die before the authorities wake up and take action?
Some of the claims made in the Loreto response to submissions are completely unrealistic. The addition of 200 car park spaces might take a few parked cars off Osborn Road, but will only increase the traffic chaos. More parking spaces means more cars.
Further, claims made by various ‘experts’, in the past, that the situation at the Osborn Road / Pennant Hills Road / Normanhurst Road intersection was acceptable, have, by experience, been proved to be wholly untrue.

The post development situation will be far worse.

1. Having more students will only create more drop-offs/pickups & hence more traffic chaos. The proposed small increase in parking spaces, a through-road, and a green travel plan WILL NOT fix the resulting chaos.
2. An increase in student numbers will only result in a further increase in the queues at the Osborn Road traffic lights.
3. The Green Travel Plan makes little sense to me. It is unenforceable. People travelling to and from the school will do it the way that suits them best, most likely door-to-door by car. Any suggested alternative would have to be very attractive indeed.
If it is such a good idea, why have they not tried it already, to help relieve the existing chaos?
4. Compromised emergency access – The traffic queues in Osborn Road, already long, caused by students and parents waiting to enter and exit P3A carpark, would get worse, further compromising emergency vehicle access.
5. The present chaotic situation is the result of very bad planning, currently and in the distant past. Osborn Road, itself a dead-end street, feeds an extensive network of dead-end streets. This situation is aggravated by the current “in-fill” policies, which further increases the local traffic.
It is not an ideal location for such a large and busy school; any expansion would be harmful to the community.
6. Protection of remnant Blue Gum High Forest and wildlife is very important. Any suggestion of widening Osborn Road would be a ruination of the environment. There simply isn’t enough space to sufficiently widen the road to solve the problem.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal as the increased traffic would be a disaster for residents of Osborn Road, and the five connected streets. Residents in Mt Pleasant Avenue would be affected as well. Ultimately, restricted access could cause somebody’s death, the entire area being a series of dead-end streets.

Declaration – I have not made a political donation in the last two years.

Yours faithfully,
Mrs ----------.

Please see attached submission.

Nobody denies Loreto a chance to grow and develop. But why is the development so big?

Loreto are proposing to almost double their school size in the coming years. Their traffic management plan includes creating a flow of traffic from Osborne Rd, through their school and out onto Mount Pleasant Ave. Both streets are dead-end streets. There will be then considerable flow-on effects for other Normanhurst streets, causing traffic delays and threatening the safety of the community. The thousands of school children that walk up and down Normanhurst Rd will be most at risk.
Here are my main concerns:
• With no traffic lights and a banning of the right hand turn from Mount Pleasant Avenue, hundreds of cars that would have otherwise turned right onto Pennant Hills Rd to go to Hornsby/Waitara will be funnelled down Normanhurst Rd. This road is already a traffic nightmare with a shopping centre at the bottom of it and two schools in the vicinity(Normanhurst Boys and Normanhurst Public School). Local traffic could be delayed by 30-60 minutes should the increased traffic from Loreto be funnelled down Normanhurst Rd. The situation will get worse over time as Loreto grows and grows.
• The intersection of Pennant Hills Rd and Osborn Rd is already very dangerous. Northbound traffic from OsborneRd to Normanhurst Rd and southbound traffic from Normanhurst Rd to Osborne Rd or Pennant Hills Rdcurrently creates a tricky situation. Add in hundreds more cars forced onto Normanhurst Rd due to the changed traffic conditions and it is a recipe for disaster. The situation will get worse over time as Loreto grows and grows.
• Increased traffic will impact access for emergency vehicles on our streets.
• Our children’s safety is at risk. Students attending Normanhurst Public School, Normanhurst Boys and those walking to the bus stop outside Loreto are already at riskfrom Pennant Hills Rd and the morning and afternoon traffic from the schools in the area. Loreto doubling their numbers will make this much worse.
• The proposed buildings are unsightly, too large and out of keeping with the residential zoning of Normanhurst

Loreto’s traffic management plan and Green Plan are woefully inadequate.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal. The increased traffic would make an already problematic traffic situation even more untenable for residents of Mount Pleasant Avenue, Osborne Road (and its five feeder streets), Normanhurst Rd, Denman Parade, Buckingham Ave and Malsbury Rd and other streets in the neighbourhood. This will impact on everyone.
I object to the above proposal in the strongest possible terms.

Dear Ms Coomar,

LORETO NORMANHURST SCHOOL REDEVELOPMENT (CONCEPT PROPOSAL AND STAGE 1), 91-93 PENNANT HILLS ROAD NORMANHURST (SSD-8996) – OBJECTION

I write to you to object to the above proposal in the strongest possible terms.

Nobody denies Loreto a chance to grow and develop. But why is the development so big?

Loreto are proposing to almost double their school size in the coming years. Their traffic management plan includes creating a flow of traffic from Osborne Rd, through their school and out onto Mount Pleasant Ave. Both streets are dead-end streets. There will be then considerable flow-on effects for other Normanhurst streets, causing traffic delays and threatening the safety of the community. The thousands of school children that walk up and down Normanhurst Rd will be most at risk.


Here are my main concerns:
• With no traffic lights and a banning of the right hand turn from Mount Pleasant Avenue, hundreds of cars that would have otherwise turned right onto Pennant Hills Rd to go to Hornsby/Waitara will be funnelled down Normanhurst Rd. This road is already a traffic nightmare with a shopping centre at the bottom of it and two schools in the vicinity (Normanhurst Boys and Normanhurst Public School). Local traffic could be delayed by 30-60 minutes should the increased traffic from Loreto be funnelled down Normanhurst Rd. The situation will get worse over time as Loreto grows and grows.
• The intersection of Pennant Hills Rd and Osborn Rd is already very dangerous. Northbound traffic from Osborne Rd to Normanhurst Rd and southbound traffic from Normanhurst Rd to Osborne Rd or Pennant Hills Rd currently creates a tricky situation. Add in hundreds more cars forced onto Normanhurst Rd due to the changed traffic conditions and it is a recipe for disaster. The situation will get worse over time as Loreto grows and grows.
• Increased traffic will impact access for emergency vehicles on our streets.
• Our children’s safety is at risk. Students attending Normanhurst Public School, Normanhurst Boys and those walking to the bus stop outside Loreto are already at risk from Pennant Hills Rd and the morning and afternoon traffic from the schools in the area. Loreto doubling their numbers will make this much worse.
• The proposed buildings are unsightly, too large and out of keeping with the residential zoning of Normanhurst.

Loreto’s traffic management plan and Green Plan are woefully inadequate.

In summary, I object to the Loreto Normanhurst amended proposal. The increased traffic would make an already problematic traffic situation even more untenable for residents of Mount Pleasant Avenue, Osborne Road (and its five feeder streets), Normanhurst Rd, Denman Parade, Buckingham Ave and Malsbury Rd and other streets in the neighbourhood. This will impact on everyone.

Declaration – I have/have not made a political donation .

Yours sincerely,

I strongly object to the Loreto Normanhurst School Redevelopment ( Concept Proposal and Stage 1)

Good morning,
Whilst I don't object to the expansion of educational opportunities in our area, I do object to the current development application as it does not adequately address the local traffic concerns of residents such as myself. Currently, parent drop off and collection traffic impedes local resident vehicle movement around not only Osborn Road but also Currawang, where on a Saturday only one-way traffic is available as we wind in and out of cars, hoping we don't scrape anyone. The proposed submission states that 'The Osborn Road/Pennant Hills Road/Normanhurst Road intersection is shown to perform at an acceptable level of service in the concept plan post development level.' Currently this intersection doesn't perform at an acceptable level with extensive traffic delays at school drop off/pick up/saturday sport and regular car accidents occurring, let alone the proposed 200 additional cars approaching this intersection. Not only am I deeply concerned about the safety of pedestrians and drivers, the extensive wait times for local residents but our house prices may also become affected as we have no alternative but to enter and exit our area at this one intersection and future buyers would be repelled by such delays. Whilst I was delighted to see in the addition of a link road between Osborn Road and Mount Pleasant Avenue, I would like the reassurance that the bulk of school traffic and parking would be contained within the school grounds, not banking back (as it currently does) on Osborn, Normanhurst and Pennant Hills Roads. If the school traffic could be completely contained within school grounds until such time as there was adequate space on Osborn Road to exit at the lights, giving way to local resident traffic, then I would be much more amenable to this proposal. I don't want to limit the school expanding but this can't come at the expense of additional local vehicle traffic. As local residents, we have one way in and out of our area and do not wish to sit behind any more school cars than we already do. We also want to have clearer access to enter our access road, Osborn, from either Pennant Hills Road or Normanhurst Road as school cars bank back to enter the extremely small drop off driveway, blocking our clear access to drive straight ahead on Osborn Road. I do appreciate your consideration of these traffic issues and implore you to expect the school to contain their own traffic within their grounds, not blocking local roads and adding additional commute times for local residents. Thank you.

I object to this proposal as I am concerned about the increased traffic which will occur if this development goes ahead.

Loreto are proposing to almost double their school size in the coming years. The traffic management plan includes creating a flow of traffic from Osborne Rd, through their school and out onto Mount Pleasant Ave. Both streets are dead-end streets. It has been suggested that the right hand turn out of Mount Pleasant Ave will be closed, meaning cars wanting to head towards Hornsby/Waitara will have to go via Normanhurst Road. There will be then considerable flow-on effects for other Normanhurst streets, causing traffic delays and threatening the safety of the community. These roads are already congested during peak times, namely during school drop-off and pick-up times, which has made entering and exiting local streets increasingly difficult. Waiting to exiting Knox Place every week-day morning between 7.15am and 7.30am is almost impossible at times. The thousands of school children that walk up and down Normanhurst Rd will be most at risk. Normanhurst Road, Denman Pde, Malsbury Road are all likely to be affected.

In essence I approve of the project but there a number of things I object to:
1. The proposed internal link road from Osborn Road to Mount Pleasant Avenue which I think will have a seriously detrimental effect on the traffic in Mount Pleasant Avenue as there is only one exit point at Pennent Hills Road. This is already a minor problem on Saturday morning during term time when cars are parked on both sides of the road.
and
2. The proposal to stop traffic turning right out of Mount Pleasant Avenue which will have a seriously detrimental impact on residents in Mount Pleasant Avenue as this is the exit from the dead end street. To go to Hornsby, the M1, Wahroonga and for me personally I rarely turn left to leave the street but to go to work or shopping I would turn right at least twice a day. It would increase my travel time by 10 minutes at any time and could be longer. Also now that the traffic volume on Pennant Hill Road is much decreased with the opening of Northconnex I can't see that turning right is an issue.

My objections to this proposal highlight the impacts of increased student numbers on the suburb of Normanhurst. Normanhurst is already under strain with existing schools in the area (Normanhurst Boys, Normanhurst Public School and Loretto).
The proposed traffic management plan for catering for this expansion is hugely problematic and dangerous and will impact hugely on the residents of Normanhurst and surrounding suburbs.
The development is not in keeping with the zoning of the neighbourhood.

See attached pdf document setting out my objections.