By Alesha Capone
A father has called for Wyndham council to take action on what he describes as “atrocious parking behavior” occurring at Tarneit Central Kindergarten.
Jason van der Paal said he believed the gate codes for the carpark, which is only meant for use by kindergarten families and staff, had been “leaked”, resulting in many people, including families whose students attended a nearby school, using the carpark and preventing kindergarten parents from using it.
“It has become dangerous to pick up kids in that carpark now,” Mr van der Paal said.
“People simply block the road inside and outside that carpark.
“The atrocious lack of enforcement of the reserved parking area for the kindergarten has gotten to the point where it has become unsafe to take small children through the area because of gridlocked traffic, illegal parking and dangerous driving.”
Wyndham city life director Jenny McMahon said that while the council was not the operator of the kindergarten, it “worked closely” with the operator.
“The kindergarten carpark is congested at times – this kindergarten is in high demand with 320 children currently enrolled at the facility,” she said.
“There have been a handful of small issues with families getting frustrated, around pick-up and drop-off times, with congestion and the inability to find a parking spot. Council has requested that the kindergarten operator pass on these concerns to council.”
Ms McMahon said that the code to gain access to the kindergarten carpark was changed annually and provided to families, with a request that they keep it confidential.
“While it would be disappointing if the code has been passed on to people without a connection to the kindergarten, the kindergarten operator indicates that there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case,” she said.
