An Important Message about Safety and our Neighbours

As part of the Darlinghurst community, SCEGGS is proudly committed to working co-operatively with our neighbours and local community so that everyone feels safe and respected.

Unfortunately, we have received reports from our neighbours about difficulties in Forbes Street, both in terms of the traffic and the noise from some of our early morning arrivals.

We firmly request all parents and carers driving their daughters to and from school to be respectful of our neighbours and to observe all road and traffic rules. While we understand there will always be a degree of congestion during peak pick-up times, there are ways and means to keep traffic flowing which benefits all parents and carers in the pick-up line and maintains the roads are safe and usable for everyone.

Some important reminders:

It is illegal to park across driveways
Double Parking is illegal and dangerous
Performing U-turns in a School Zone and high traffic area is extremely dangerous
Refrain from conducting U-turns in the driveway of the Horizon Building – it is private property.

Click here for some guidelines from the City of Sydney.

And some other ways you could help with traffic in the local area:

Encourage your daughter to use public transport wherever possible. Buses and trains provide a reliable service to SCEGGS and may be a good option for your daughter.
Also consider car-pooling if possible, which would reduce the number of cars in the pick-up line.
Ensure your daughter knows to be ready for you at the pick-up point and that they enter the car as quickly (and safely) as possible.
Please obey instructions from our Traffic Controller who is there to keep traffic moving.
If possible, consider delaying pick-up for 10 or 20 minutes. Every day, we see the traffic congestion cleared by 3.30pm. Your daughter is very welcome to go to the Library straight after school to do her homework or research and she is also welcome to remain “behind the green gate” with friends to await pick-up after 3.30pm. We know this is not always possible due to after-school commitments, but it is a great way to reduce the number of cars at the peak times of 3.10-3.25pm.
If you are picking up students after co-curricular activities, please don’t double park whilst you wait for them to be dismissed. Please go around the block so that neighbours can also drive safely and in a timely fashion.

And while we are delighted to see so many girls adhering to their before school co-curricular commitments, we do ask you to be mindful of our neighbours and try to keep noise to a minimum.

Thank you for considering the above options and for partnering with us to maintain good relationships within the community we all love!

Jenny Allum
Head of School