Meadowbank Schools Project Mod 4 - Public Domain Changes

The reduction in safe access for pedestrians, via the reduction in footpath width, not upgrading pedestrian access along Hermitage road and removing pedestrian crossings is not acceptable and does not seem to reflect the significant pedestrian traffic that the school zone will generate. These unsafe reductions to the proposed work should be rejected.

My comments relate to the application to modify the consent conditions relating to the Meadowbank Schools Project.
Is the proposed removal of conditions relating to the public domain due to; (1) they are unnecessary (2) the budget is blown and there is no more money
or (3) the government now believes those works are Council's responsibility? The submission proposing the removal of the conditions lacks rigour and a level of reality.
Knowing the site and the various forms of traffic generated by schools these days, it is inconceivable that the present public roads could safely cope with what will be the largest education precinct in Ryde LGA. If the conditions are considered onerous, why were they not challenged before consent was granted or is it only now that someone has looked at what the conditions really mean and the cost and time involved? Either way, the Education Department's project has the responsibility to ensure the public safety that was envisaged in the consent conditions.

I write to express my concerns regarding the proposal to remove essential pedestrian safety elements from the Meadowbank Education Precinct build.

The construction of an educational facility in a busy, densely populated area such as Meadowbank requires the critical infrastructure to support it. This includes providing critical footpaths, street lights and pedestrian crossings - prior to the school opening.

Having regularly navigated these streets with a stroller and young children in tow (to access the TAFE), I can personally confirm that the current infrastructure is unsuitable and unsafe. In particular, the western side of Hermitage Rd desperately needs a footpath. Currently, the only available option is for families to walk across the busy driveways of the industrial sites on the eastern side. This has always been a risky manoeuvre, even for adults, with trucks and forklifts utilising these spaces.

In seeking to withhold promised pedestrian infrastructure improvements, the proposed modifications significantly risk the safety of school children accessing this already incredibly busy site - which is shared by Meadowbank TAFE and adjoined by industrial premises, the train line, and popular Meadowbank Station. Young students (including very young primary children) will be accessing this new facility via crowded, dangerous roads, including nearby Victoria Rd. Traffic is already considerable in the streets surrounding the school; this will increase substantially once the school opens. Students and their families require safe ways to access the site each day. If a child is hit by a vehicle on Hermitage Rd (or the other streets impacted by the proposed changes) in future, the accident will have been both predictable and preventable.

Further, I support the comments and concerns outlined in detail by the City of Ryde Council in their submission, 'MEEP - Schools Project Modification':
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/rydelabor/pages/2323/attachments/original/1637576513/Attachment_1_-_City_of_Ryde_Su_ecinct_-_Meadowbank_Education_and_Employment_Precinct_%28SSD-9341_Mod_4%29.pdf?1637576513

Thank you for considering this submission. I look forward to the opening of the new schools.

The options above on my view of the project limit my actual view. I do not object to the idea of the new school, My issue is with the State Government modification to remove pedestrian safety elements from their Meadowbank Education Precinct build.
Additionally, the need to create an account to provide my comments is a barrier to the community being able to give easy honest feedback- which I am sure the State is hoping for.
Currently I can not allow my primary school children to walk the short distance tot the existing Meadowbank Primary school due to the dangerous route we must take. EVERY Single day on the to and from journey, drivers threaten the lives , whether it is a car running a red light at Church street, to the drivers not heeding the 40km limit and the disgusting state of the pathways. The new precinct extends the danger for us and others as the children and carers now need to negotiate several additional road crossings, all of which are NOT suitable for or created with children in mind . And now, the State wishes to open the precinct, which will see thousands of humans converging on the same area 5 days a week, without the needed safety.
You need to look at the full picture and do the right thing, and not to simply sign off this project so a MP can open a small curtain on a plaque . The build is already years behind and I doubt many would care if delays extended so we can have minimal, necessary pedestrian safely to access the school.
Due to more State Government allowance, the thousands of apartments which feed into the education precinct have limited parking, which limited cars in the area, which maximises pedestrian activity to access the new schools. You need to ensure that this State policy for the area is then suitably followed up with walkable pathways - (cycle pathways would be too much to ask for !)
With no specific school buses to feed into the school, again, children will use public transport which does not run past the school-again forcing people to use the pathways.
Cramming a TAFE, High School and Primary school into the one lot (between a power station, train tracks and water treatment station ) and with additional plans for a business precinct in the area, you need to consider the traffic in the area, already a safety nightmare, and make sure we are doing the right thing, which is not always the fastest or simplest.
The parking and traffic management of the new school zone is woefully inadequate, and this will lead to further bad motorists and pedestrian behaviour. We have a safety prevention focus in Australia and i need the State Government to uphold in in this case, rather than wait for a victim to force it.
I know many people supported the new school precinct based on the whole picture, including the widening of pathways (some are too narrow for 2 people to walk side by side). Much of the original plans have already been modified into nothing, hence I can not support any further reduction .
I can about my children and the community. I care to limit the anxiety in the once simplicity and fun to get to school- now replaced with will a car hit me on the way ? I want to allow my children the autonomy to get to school on their own as the benefits are many, but they cant.
With so many community concessions already in this area, DO Not allow Mod 4

To the Director Social and Infrastructure Assessments,

I Yuefan Li OBJECT strongly to the modifications submitted as part of the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct project.

We have grave concerns about the proposal as it will detrimentally impact student safety getting to and from school.

The original approval for this school and TAFE complex was based on safety requirements that were deemed necessary for an area where the local road network was inadequate in safety terms for the development.

We have listed below a number of points, some which come under the Project Manager’s “Modification 4 – SSD-9343-Mod-4” proposal and some further examples that demonstrate that there is an implementation problem where small, in terms of the total cost, are omitted, but which make a difference, and which affect the physical and mental well-being of students.

o Deletion of the requirement to provide a 2.5m wide shared user path along the western side of Hermitage Road – REJECT - The current footpath on Hermitage Road runs out after about 100m and turns into a grassed section, not level to walk on. It was part of the approvals to install a footpath along this section of road which leads to the school. The project team believe it will be too costly to install due to services that run under that section of ground and have put in a modification to plan seeking to exclude this footpath from being installed.

We have looked into this ourselves and have been told by a Sydney Water expert that this is an everyday simple exercise and that the water main that needs to be moved, in accordance with the plans that the developer submitted to Council, are not complex.

The data the Project Team has used to justify the removal of an upgrade to the Hermitage Road footpath with the reasoning it will not have a heavy pedestrian flow of children is clearly flawed to anyone who knows the area and how teenagers think and act.

The catchment area that the data has been taken from simply does not represent accurately where the students travel from and how they will get to school. This is evident from data the P&C have gathered from current students, who travel from places such as Dundas, Rydalmere, Epping, Carlingford, Telopea, Marsfield, Bankstown, Mount Druitt and many other suburbs outside of Ryde. The safety concerns will remain should the Department of Education change the school catchment areas in the future.

Ideally, the safety works should be completed before the schools open.

We believe this is necessary as our kids will get off buses either at West Ryde train station or outside the 7eleven on Victoria Road and choose to walk down Hermitage Road as it is the most convenient, direct route for kids coming from the Parramatta direction.

Business owners on the block commencing from Hermitage Road to Mellor Street are also hugely concerned with regard to the safety of students travelling on industrial streets with a constant flow of work vehicles and heavy trucks. They have paid for traffic studies by a private company but these are not being accepted by the project team as real evidence in our plight to have the safety concerns heard.

Another issue is the Traffic light timing at the intersection of Victoria Road to Hermitage Road: This timing of the lights is way too short for both motor vehicles and student pedestrians to cross Victoria Road.

Nonetheless, it is even worse for vehicles travelling along Hermitage Road from the north of Victoria Road and turning right (westward) into Victoria Road. Many of these vehicles do a work around which involves going straight through the intersection, then making a U-Turn in the southern part of Hermitage Road, and then turning left into Victoria Road.

This is already a chaotic and massive safety issue which will be exacerbated greatly when both Marsden High School and Meadowbank Primary School are functioning.

Physical Barriers: We would also like to see physical barriers on Victoria Road installed to discourage students from cutting across Victoria Road between traffic lights. This would be so much safer for everyone. This is a standard measure put in place for many schools and areas that are dangerous and assist pedestrians who need protecting from the traffic. There has already been a death on that stretch of road and we feel that without appropriate safety measures it will only be a matter of time before one of our children is killed or injured.

o Changes to footpath upgrade requirements along Bowden Street and Squire Street – REJECT – these footpaths need to safely accommodate the number of children and families who will walk these streets to and from school.

Changes to Pedestrian crossing at/near the following intersection:

o See Street: - REJECT - The Project Team has said that Council have instructed them to not install the pedestrian crossing that was planned for this intersection. The Council have denied this and have written to confirm that they do want this pedestrian crossing included in the scope of the build as per the original requirements. This omission is ludicrous when it is the direct crossing that families will need to take to enter the school when walking from down Bowden Street and either MacPherson Street or up See Street from Angus Street.

o Rhodes Street and Macpherson Street – REJECT - removal of pedestrian crossing in Kiss and Ride area.

Additional Rhodes Street Dangers - This is the allocated street for Kiss & Ride. Having schools that cater for over 2,500 + students, with parents who need to drop children for Primary School,High School or TAFE at the same location is going to cause chaos. Even with different start times, this will not make much difference to the traffic jams that will occur at this point. There will be massive issues with cars doing illegal U-Turns or three point turns on every street from the school to Victoria Road so they don’t have to do the full loop involving coming back onto Victoria Road and back around to the drop zone again. This issue was brought up many times by the Project Reference Group (PRG) representative who suggested a roundabout where Hermitage Rd meets Rhodes Street so that cars can easily return to the direction they have come from. This was disregarded as a possible solution.

The PTC Consultants assessment of the character of Bowden and Macpherson Streets being residential and cafes completely ignores the fact that it is the street where all heavy vehicles and rat run cars turn onto Bowden Street from Victoria Rd. Hermitage Road is too narrow for all industrial heavy traffic to turn onto so they all transit to the industrial area via Bowden Street. Saying this street has less opportunity for conflict is completely wrong.

o Mellor Street and Victoria Road – APPROVE – open to an alternative pedestrian crossing solution to be presented.

Other:

· Deletion of the requirement to provide upgrades to streetlights – REJECT – all lighting should be up to standard and available on all access roads to and from the school

· Provide flexibility in the timing for completion of public domain works where existing overhead/inground services or approval cause delays to the required works – APPROVE once conditions that Council have set out on their Attachment 1 document pg. 12.

· Amend timing for the submission External Works Compliance Certificate and Works-as-Executed Plans to Council – APPROVE once conditions that Council have set out on their Attachment 1 document pg. 13 is met.

· The modification application also seeks consent for extension of the approved construction hours to allow construction of the public domain works, where approval has been granted under Section 138 of Roads Act 1993. – REJECT - Extension of construction hours – this build has already caused major impacts to the local community. They can currently work until 7pm but are out of the site before 3pm in the afternoon. How about they just work until 5pm or 6pm like normal people. That is an extension to their work day. Residents in the surrounding streets don’t need anything beyond that. - REJECT


Additional problems with the school build impacting school operations
In addition to the safety concerns of students for the transit to school, we also have concerns about a number of key aspects that we believe needed to be included as part of the build. Unfortunately, we have been continuously told that there would be no additions to (detailed) scope, as perceived by the Project Manager, even though so many decisions made do not make any sense.

We deem the below points are essential to students’ safety and best practice as demonstrated in other new build designs.

· All weather surface: the school has a tiny oval installed at the site, it is at the lowest point on the whole site and is in a flood zone. Due to the fact that it is not a full-sized oval and no full game of field sport can be played on it, it will have a heavy flow of students - at full capacity will have 1,620 students.

We believe it will be either a dust bowl in summer or a swamp when it rains. We had requested right from the start of this process that an all-weather surface be laid so it can be utilized by the children all year round. This is a standard that is already been implemented in a number of new school builds and we don’t understand why this is not possible for our school with a budget of $300M.

This omission will turn into a costly exercise for the Department of Education to maintain, which we are sure won’t be budgeted for in the school’s Annual Plan. We have looked into this, and have found that playgrounds and playing fields that have been installed by Councils and other bodies do not include a concrete base. There are some places on school sites where artificial grass has been laid on concrete, usually for other reasons, such as the fact that the concrete is there for another purpose.

Please comply with the conditions of the DA, particularly D9(b). Crossing See Street without a dedicated pedestrian crossing near Macphershon street is not safe for the many school children attending the education precinct from the eastern side of the school catchment.
The use of amendments to disciple aspects without clear justification should not be allowed.

Submission from: Ruth Nahlous
Parent of high school student
Active member, Marsden High School P&C Association

Application Name: Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct Schools Project – Modification 4 – SSD-9343-Mod-4

Have you made any reportable Political donations: I have not
________________________________________

Please see attached submission with my objections.

This modification is the very essence of poor planning and governance.

The project was ill conceived and should never have gone ahead. My skepticism at all the grandiose promises at the beginning of this project has been justified.

This project has been riven with poor management and controls - leading to massive residential frustration and anger.

To now cut crucial infrastructure, all affecting the safety of students, is unimaginable. Just because your project time frames and budgets have blown out does not mean you can serve a shoddy, second rate, dangerous school precinct to the people of Ryde.

To the Director Social and Infrastructure Assessments,

I wish to submit my objection to elements of the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct Schools Project – Modification 4 – SSD-9343-Mod-4.

I believe that elements of the proposal will detrimentally impact student safety getting to and from school. It is my understanding that approval was given to this project with the specific requirement that local road safety inadequacies were appropriately addressed. I am a member of the Marsden High School P&C and support all aspects of their submission. I request that its contents be considered with some gravity as a representation from the parent body of Marsden High.

In particular, I personally have grave concerns surrounding the proposed deletion of the requirement to provide a 2.5m wide shared user path along the western side of Hermitage Road.

I strenuously object to the removal of this requirement. As per the original project approval, I understand there have been investigations regarding the creation of a footpath on the west side of Hermitage Road but these have been complicated by existing underground utilities infrastructure. Despite these challenges and associated costs, there is still a pressing need for the creation of this pedestrian route. The current footpath on the east side of the street runs past numerous industrial properties including a busy chemical company with regular truck and forklift traffic. It also requires students crossing from the bus stop on the north side of Victoria Road to wait to cross not two but three traffic lights. As such, high school students will be far too tempted to instead cross the street against the lights or jay walk further down this already busy road.

To justify the removal of this footpath, the Project Team has submitted data indicating that there will be no heavy pedestrian flow. I believe that these numbers are flawed, particularly in the afternoon. Many of the proposed routes fail to take into account teenage behavior.

* The Hermitage Road Active Transport Assessment by PTC suggests that students catching the bus in the afternoon will walk along Bowden Street to the bus stop in order to travel west along Victoria Road. I believe that a large number of students will choose to walk along Hermitage to access services at the 7/11 on Hermitage Road &/or continue on to West Ryde shops. At the current Marsden school site large groups of students frequent the BP and MacDonalds on Victoria Road each afternoon, and I do not see this behavior changing at the new site with the 7/11 and West Ryde shops in close proximity.

* It’s indicated that students travelling to the school from the vicinity of West Ryde station will have access to two buses AM & PM connecting the school to the station. I believe that these buses will not significantly reduce potential foot traffic from West Ryde shops given the close proximity of the school to the station. Students are unlikely to wait to catch a bus when they can walk via Hermitage road.


Additional to the pedestrian pathway on Hermitage Road, I also hold the following concerns about the safety of pedestrians along this route.

* Currently pedestrian access for students exiting the eastbound bus on Victoria Road and Hermitage Road requires them to wait for three sets of traffic lights. Pedestrians arriving from West Ryde station must wait for two. As previously mentioned, there will be considerable temptation from teenagers to cross against the lights or attempt to cut directly across Victoria Road. There has already been a death on this stretch of road and I am afraid that the death of a child may follow. At a bare minimum, physical barriers should be established on Victoria Road to discourage students from cutting directly across. Ideally a pedestrian footpath should also be established to cater for the increased foot traffic of the local industry, tafe, high school and primary schools.

*The timing of the lights at the intersection of Victoria Road and Hermitage Road desperately requires close scrutiny and modification. As a current West Ryde Public School parent who lives towards the northern end of Hermitage Road I am very familiar with this intersection as I often turn right from Hermitage Road onto Victoria Road westbound. In peak hour, because of pedestrian traffic and oncoming or turning cars from the other side of Hermitage Road, it's not uncommon to wait for three or more sets of lights to make it around the corner. As such, cars often run the orange and red light, or push up on slower or late pedestrians. With an increased pedestrian load at these lights, including high school students who routinely challenge the timing of lights and cross on the flashing red, this will only compound delays at this intersection, increasing driver frustration and the risk of a serious accident.

Alternatively, to avoid waiting to turn right cars often travel straight ahead across Victoria Road and along Hermitage Road. They then either u-turn on Hermitage Road back to Victoria Road or turn left down The Nook Ave to Falconer Street. This further adds to traffic on Hermitage Road and a greater potential for accidents.

With the new school opening and resulting increased traffic flow along Hermitage Road and higher pedestrian traffic, this intersection is traffic chaos and an accident waiting to happen. The aforementioned safety works should be urgently implemented, and completed prior to school opening.


Further to this submission regarding the Modification 4 – SSD-9343-Mod-4, I hold some additional concerns around the build and would welcome an opportunity to voice these. These include;

- Provision of adequate undercover outdoor areas
I would request that an all-weather COLA (Covered Outdoor Learning Area) be constructed over at least one of the designated court areas of the school.

While the current building plans include a number of covered outdoor areas, none of these provide adequate covered outdoor space for students during break times in the case of rain or to provide sun safe options on hot days. There is also no covered outdoor area large enough for group assemblies. The current proposed undercover basketball court at the end of the building is not adequate space to run multiple sports classes in extreme heat and UV or wet weather. Its accessibility for use during break times is also compromised by its location across from the canteen. As a high traffic area, I expect that it will routinely be filled by students waiting for or eating food, and as such be unavailable for sports use. This will only be exacerbated during wet weather or hot days.

Feedback from NSW School Infrastructure regarding covered outdoor areas has been that the current plans provide for covered outdoor learning spaces on each floor. In order for staff to adequately supervise students during breaks, they will be directed away from these areas and required to congregate in the limited remaining covered courts. There is not the capacity to cater for over 1,500 students in these areas.

- Installation of an all weather surface on the school oval.

The new school oval is very small, at the lowest point of the site and in a flood zone. The demands on this space for formal and casual sport and recreation by students will be extreme. Past experience at West Ryde Public School has shown the immense damage that many feet in a small areas can do to a turfed surface. It’s anticipated that the oval will quickly become a dust bowl in the dry and mud bath in the wet. An all weather surface has been requested by the Marsden parent community from the beginning of the project. Whilst it’s installation is costly, we believe that it will not only allow safe and ongoing use by students, support and encourage healthy activity, and assist teachers in efficient and easy class planning as all learning areas will be available. It will also be cheaper in the long run rather than sinking considerable time and resources into maintaining and replacing the turf surface.

Thank you for this opportunity to express my thoughts regarding this modification and related matters. Please be in contact if you would like clarification on any point mentioned above.

Regards,
Alison Chan
(Mother of two Marsden High Students in 2022 and Local West Ryde Resident)

I object to the Application No SSD-9343-Mod-4 going ahead.

The reason I object is because the roads surrounding this Meadowbank Education and Employment Schools precinct are busy and full and the journey to the precinct need to be as safe as possible and to put pedestrians safety first.

The footpath along Hermitage road should be wider to accommodate families walking to school.

The streetlights need to be upgraded as there is not enough light along constitution Rd between See St and Bowden St when night falls. Rhodes St and Hermitage roads and MacPherson St, need more lights along both sides of the roads to ensure the safety of the students and teachers. Especially In the winter months.

Pedestrian crossings help maintain a safe and dedicated crossing area for the influx of students that the precinct is bringing.

The amount of traffic that is around due to the numerous car spray painters / mechanics / car tinting is huge. Having pedestrian crossings allows the students to cross the road safely and ensures vehicle traffic is aware of the high number of pedestrians that will now be the new normal once the precinct opens. This area has had little foot traffic for years and the factories need to adapt to this changing environment. So any safety precautions taken - need to be installed to help with the area changing.

These street crossings and light upgrades should be expedited and completed by the new expected date of the precinct being completed in April 2022. All of the External Works Compliance Certificate and Works as Executed Plans need to be expedited and completed by April 2022, instead of postponed, to ensure the safety of the 1790 students expected on this site.

If councils can get similar work actioned promptly as the result of flooding or bushfires, then NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment can expedite these works to fit in with the delayed opening of the new school.

I object to the Application No SSD-9343-Mod-4 going ahead.

The reason I object is because the roads surrounding this Meadowbank Education and Employment Schools precinct are busy and full and the pathways to the precinct need to be as safe as possible and to put pedestrians safety first.

The footpath along Hermitage road should be wider to accommodate families walking to school.

The streetlights need to be upgraded as there is not enough light along constitution Rd between See St and Bowden St when night falls. Rhodes St and Hermitage roads and MacPherson St, need more lights along both sides of the roads to ensure the safety of the students and teachers. Especially In the winter months.

Pedestrian crossings help maintain a safe and dedicated crossing area for the influx of students that the precinct is bringing.

The amount of traffic that is around due to the numerous car spray painters / mechanics / car tinting is huge. Having pedestrian crossings allows the students to cross the road safely and ensures vehicle traffic is aware of the high number of pedestrians that will now be the new normal once the precinct opens. This area has had little foot traffic for years and the factories need to adapt to this changing environment. So any safety precautions taken - need to be installed to help with the area changing.

These street crossings and light upgrades should be expedited and completed by the new expected date of the precinct being completed in April 2022. All of the External Works Compliance Certificate and Works as Executed Plans need to be expedited and completed by April 2022, instead of postponed, to ensure the safety of the 1790 students expected on this site.

If councils can get similar work actioned promptly as the result of flooding or bushfires, then NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment can expedite these works to fit in with the delayed opening of the new school.

Hello, my name is George and I own and run a busy mechanical workshop on Hermitage Rd, West Ryde. My great concern is the deletion of the requirement to provide a 2.5m wide shared user path along the western side of Hermitage Road. I believe this will compromise the safety of all the students, teachers, parents, customers and employees on this road. There are many cars constantly driving in and out of the driveways of the not only mine but all the businesses along this road. This will impact us in many ways as stress levels,time, management of directing traffic in and out of our workshop etc. The safety of all the students and all pedestrian traffic along Hermitage Rd should be paramount as the vast number will grow upon opening of the school. Deleting the requirement of the path also deletes basic common sense.
Parking is also an issue as it is now, let alone when the school officially opens. I am concerned that this has not been well addressed and will again impact all businesses involved along this street. We struggle on a daily basis as it is now so what will be the situation when there are many many many more cars to the area.
Again I would like to stress my concern of safety for all the pedestrians and hope that basic common sense and concern will prevail in this situation.

My name is Kate Elwin and I am a parent of a current year 7 student attending Marsden High School in 2021.
My main concern with this build is cutting corners on safety aspects for all students at this new school site.
I strongly object to the omission of safety barriers on Victoria Rd where students will be disembarking public transport, pedestrian crossing that was due to be included and a 2.5mtr shared footpath along Hermitage Road.
I would like to raise serious concerns over a number of points, some which come under the Project Manager’s “Modification 4 – SSD-9343-Mod-4” proposal and some further examples that demonstrate that there is an implementation problem where small, in terms of the total cost, are omitted, but which make a difference, and which affect the physical and mental well-being of students.
Physical Barriers: I would also like to see physical barriers on Victoria Road installed to discourage students from cutting across Victoria Road between traffic lights. This would be so much safer for everyone. This is a standard measure put in place for many schools and areas that are dangerous and assist pedestrians who need protecting from the traffic. There has already been a death on that stretch of road and we feel that without appropriate safety measures it will only be a matter of time before one of our children is killed or injured.

I am very concerned that safety measures will not be put in place before the new school site opens and therefore putting all of our children at risk.

Please find my submission attached.

Please refer to attachment

The safety of the children has not been taken into consideration when making the proposed submission amendments.
- have the people making the decision to remove footpaths (eg on Hermitage Rd) walked the footpath that the students will need to use. I have walked this on many occasions and this road is DANGEROUS. Reasons include pedestrians need to dodge forklifts (Formula Chemicals) which breach the footpath - imagine a child being speared by one; All day, cars which are in a hurry to turn right off Hermitage onto Victoria Rd make the dangerous move of crossing over Victoria Rd (ie go straight ahead) then do a U-turn on the footpath to go back onto Hermitage Rd and to turn left onto Victoria Rd. These drivers are dangerous for cars, imagine a child being hit. The footpath on Hermitage Rd (Western side) needs to be constructed. Fullstop.
-The request to increase times of construction have been rejected by residents already in 2021. For the safety of residents bordering the construction zone, this cannot be revisited. The current work times are not being used as workers leave by 3pm every day. Who are the project directors that are not doing their job at managing the permitted construction times appropriately?
- As a resident of roads on the rat run which forms the streets around the school, I have already clearly documented how dangerous these roads are. People involved in the consultation process have clearly documented that they concur with the 'lived-in' experiences of being a resident. This related to submissions from numerous residents. These submissions will be provided to legal matters when accidents and injuries occur, ie that residents tried to save lives. To not put a crossing on See Street shows a lack of respect for human life.
Greater Sydney Commission received very clear submissions from locals to provide advice on how to mitigate the dangerous traffic. These submissions and previous reports need to be listed to and acted upon.
Whoever makes a decision to remove the important safety measures will have blood on their conscience when accidents occur. Please, listen to the people who make submissions, and do the job you are being paid to do.
In the 30mins it has taken to write this submission, there have been 4 blasts of car horns on the streets surrounding the school as rat-runners try to speed home (Victoria rd down to Ryde bridge). If there were cars blasting pedestrians, I do not believe children would survive.
The safety concerns of this Schools construction have been clearly documented to Dept PIE and other bodies, including Worksafe. Do not allow their lack of safety on the construction site be evident in the lack of safety for school children.

See attached letter

Application: Meadowbank Education & Employment Precinct Schools Project - MODIFICATION 4
Application No: SSD-9343-Mod-4
I have not made any political donations in the last 2 years

I categorically object to all modifications / changes as outlined in this application.
All proposed changes will have a negative, and direct impact to both students and community safety in and around the school location.
The school is located in a busy, high traffic area with light /medium industry nearby and being also adjacent to Meadowbank train station and associated commuter traffic.
The original approval was based on ensuring additional and necessary safety requirements were met in order to protect students, staff and the community when travelling to / from the school and TAFE complex.
The existing infrastructure is totally inadequate and not capable of safely managing the significant increase in traffic flow and congestion with this new School Precinct.
It is the obligation of the Government, local council and the school precinct administration to ensure the safe passage of students, whether that is travelling by car/bus or as a pedestrian in and around the local streets leading to the School Precinct.
As such the items concerning infrastructure upgrades are all necessary and must proceed as originally planned;
1) 2.5m wide shared user path along the western side of Hermitage Rd
2) All pedestrian crossings as originally approved at/near the following intersections;
- See St and Macpherson St
- Rhodes St and Macpherson St
- Mellor St and Victoria Rd
3) Upgrade to streetlights as originally approved to ensure safe and clear travel of students in the afternoon/evening

Lastly, as previously stated the local area in and around the new school precinct is a busy area, with high commuter traffic from Meadowbank train station and light/medium industry and businesses. As such I reject the proposal to extend construction hours as this result in more safety risks to where existing infrastructure is already inadequate.

I trust my submission will be taken under serious consideration as the only outcome is to appose these modification application.

We OBJECT strongly to many of the modifications submitted as part of the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct project.

We have grave concerns about the proposal as it will detrimentally impact the safety of our kids getting to and from school.

The original approval for this school and TAFE complex was based on safety requirements that were deemed necessary for an area where the local road network was inadequate in safety terms for the development.

Our kids will be travelling from Ermington down Victoria Rd and Hermitage Rd to access the school and the modifications to footpath requirements and concerning; we also have concerns about the industrial site activity. We also have concerns with the traffic light timing at the intersection of Victoria and Hermitage Roads; this timing of the lights is too short for both motor vehicles and student pedestrians to cross Victoria Road; this results in vehicles travelling along Hermitage Road from the north of Victoria Road who want to turn right (westward) into Victoria Road going straight through the intersection, then making a U-Turn in the southern part of Hermitage Road, and then turning left into Victoria Road. This is already a chaotic and massive safety issue which will be exacerbated greatly when both Marsden High School and Meadowbank Primary School are functioning.

We would also like to see physical barriers on Victoria Road installed to discourage students from cutting across Victoria Road between traffic lights. There are regularly car accidents in that small stretch of Victoria Rd between Bowden St Ryde and West Ryde.

We are also concerned about other footpath changes and pedestrian crossing changes including at See St; as well as the deletion of the requirement to provide upgrades to streetlights; all lighting should be up to standard and available on all access roads to and from the school for kids to travel safely in the winter.

In addition to pedestrian safety and concerns about the kiss and ride changes, we are also more generally concerned about the school plan that there appears to be a lack of outdoor shaded spaces for students for such a large school student population.

I object to the Application No SSD-9343-Mod-4 going ahead.

The reason I object is because the roads surrounding this Meadowbank Education and Employment Schools precinct are busy and full and the pathways to the precinct need to be as safe as possible and to put pedestrians safety first.

The footpath along Hermitage road should be wider to accommodate families walking to school.

The streetlights need to be upgraded as there is not enough light along constitution Rd between See St and Bowden St when night falls. Rhodes St and Hermitage roads and MacPherson St, need more lights along both sides of the roads to ensure the safety of the students and teachers. Especially In the winter months.

Pedestrian crossings help maintain a safe and dedicated crossing area for the influx of students that the precinct is bringing.

The amount of traffic that is around due to the numerous car spray painters / mechanics / car tinting is huge. Having pedestrian crossings allows the students to cross the road safely and ensures vehicle traffic is aware of the high number of pedestrians that will now be the new normal once the precinct opens. This area has had little foot traffic for years and the factories need to adapt to this changing environment. So any safety precautions taken - need to be installed to help with the area changing.

These street crossings and light upgrades should be expedited and completed by the new expected date of the precinct being completed in April 2022. All of the External Works Compliance Certificate and Works as Executed Plans need to be expedited and completed by April 2022, instead of postponed, to ensure the safety of the 1790 students expected on this site.

If councils can get similar work actioned promptly as the result of flooding or bushfires, then NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment can expedite these works to fit in with the delayed opening of the new school.