Traffic and Parking Trial – Forbes and Bourke Streets

Parents who pick up their girls from SCEGGS in the afternoon will be familiar with the issues we encounter in both Forbes Street and Bourke Street.  While certainly not a new issue, the congestion of cars between 2:45pm and 4pm is significant and creates frustration for our parents and also the local neighbours too.

We have been working collaboratively with both the City of Sydney and our local community to look at measures to improve traffic flow around SCEGGS, particularly during the afternoon peak.

As a result, City of Sydney has agreed to a trial of new parking arrangements on both Forbes and Bourke Streets for Terms 3 and 4 of 2022.  The trial arrangements are designed to improve parking access for school buses and allocate a clearly designated area for pick-up of passengers.

City of Sydney has recently installed new street signs on both Forbes and Bourke Streets with the new parking restrictions.  Additionally, we have appointed a qualified Traffic Controller who will be stationed on Forbes Street in the afternoon.  Their role will be to assist parents to comply with the new rules and to ensure the best possible flow of traffic.  Specifically, the Traffic Controller will:

1. Direct drivers not to park across the pedestrian crossing at the Green Gate;
2. Ensure drivers are not double-parked waiting to collect their passengers;
3. Direct drivers to move on if they cannot park within the signed “No Parking” zone on Forbes Street AND direct drivers to move on if they remain in the “No Parking” zone for more than the two minutes allowed; and
4. Ensure the parking and traffic rules are being adhered to.

During the trial, City of Sydney Rangers will increase their patrols around SCEGGS.  The Rangers, together with our Traffic Controller, will monitor any incidents/observations as part of the trial.

Note that Rangers do have the power to issue fines and demerit points to drivers breaching the rules.

We believe the trial arrangements for Terms 3 and 4 will have a positive effect on traffic flow around SCEGGS.  This will be of great benefit to drivers picking up their girls, and more importantly, it will improve safety for our students.  It also demonstrates to our neighbours that we are working with them to minimise disruption during peak pick-up and drop-off times.

Please familiarise yourself with the revised parking arrangements for both Forbes and Bourke Streets which can be found here.  Also, when necessary, please follow the guidance and direction provided by the Traffic Controller on duty.  Their role is to make sure drivers are complying with the rules and we ask you to treat them with respect and understanding.

At the conclusion of Term 4, City of Sydney staff will analyse the effectiveness of the measures to determine the success (or otherwise) of the trial arrangements.

We thank you for your co-operation and look forward to improved traffic flow around SCEGGS.

 
Jenny Allum
Head of School