GRAHAMVALE Primary School has appealed to the Department of Education to acquire land adjoining the school to improve traffic safety for students, families and staff during drop-off and pick-up times.
Wendy Lovell, the Member for Northern Victoria, spoke in Parliament last week to call on the Minister for Education to open discussions with relevant stakeholders to progress the acquisition of land.
The primary school has 106 parking spaces, but on a typical day, more than 160 cars will be parked in and around the school during peak hours. Parked cars often form a long line along Grahamvale Road’s grass verge, stretching almost 200m north of the school.
Ms Lovell said this is a clear hazard, as Grahamvale Road is an arterial road that forms part of the Shepparton Alternative Route, which allows heavy vehicles to bypass the Shepparton town centre.
The need to acquire land for safety was first raised by Ms Lovell in 2008. After raising the issue again 10 years later, in 2018, the then-Minister for Education replied, “An expansion of the Grahamvale Primary School site could potentially ameliorate issues,” which arise when new housing boosts student numbers and associated traffic.
In 2019, the then-Minister for Planning approved the Shepparton North East Precinct Structure Plan, which earmarked the land around Grahamvale Primary as the area of the school’s “potential expansion.”
However, the Department of Education wrote to the school two years ago, in October 2022, saying it has no existing plans to move forward in acquiring the land.
“It is imperative that land required for the expansion of the school is acquired now to prevent any chance of a serious incident occurring due to traffic congestion around the school at drop-off and pick-up times,” said Ms Lovell.
“I urge the Minister to instruct the Department of Education to open discussions with the relevant stakeholders with a view to acquiring the land around Grahamvale Primary School for its use.”
