Stevenson Library Building, The Scots College

I am aware of the main purpose behind this important project. The Gonski
Reporthas highlighted the need to improve education in Australia. An
important component to achieve this is the regular updating of
libraries in schools and the one at Scots has not received such
attention for many years. At great expense the College has sent people
overseas to research the subject over recent years and has a well
considered plan in place in order to achieve this objective

Our property faces Cranbrook Lane and vehicular access to our house is
via the Lane. We are impacted by the additional traffic associated
with developments at Scots. I would ask that t he traffic management
plan be shared with locals. I would suggest parking restrictions in
the Lane so that cars can continue to use the Lane freely when
deliveries are being made. During the recent Lang Walker building
construction, because of parked cars, many truck deliveries blocked
access to the Lane. Also boys at the school should be asked not to
park in the Lane during the development to ease congestion. I also
note that all building traffic is being routed around the oval
parallel to the Lane and then back to the building site from the
North. This will have a noise and polution impact on residents of the
Lane. A shorter access route would be to approach the building around
the oval in the other direction - West beside the tennis courts and
then North. Part of the schools rationale for renovate the Stevenson
Library now was to reduce impact on long suffering neighbours. I would
request that this development be planned to minimise the impact on
resident of Cranbrook Lane.

My wife Lyn Kidson and I do not object specifically to extensions to the
Scots College library. However, Scots has made development
applications for new buildings or extensions in the past without ever
including an off-street car park despite the parlous parking situation
in the streets around the school.
The College has repeatedly promised to build a second car with high
priority. The present car car park houses sporting equipment!
Each new development has a small funding component from one or more
donors. Scots has told us that the donor or donors will not donate
money towards a car park and tthreaten withdrawal of the donation if
their gift is used in car parking. They are therefore easily able to
side-step the issue of building a car park.
In the meantime, local residents are unable to provide street parking
for their visitors or for tradesmen servicing their property.
We therefore ask that this application be rejected.
Warren and Lyn Kidson

The increased floorspace will inevitably lead to an increase in student
numbers and staff. The current on site car parking is woefully
inadequate and this will only make the parking and traffic load in the
existing street impossible.There currently exists a shortfall of
almost 200 car spaces on the Victoria Rd site.The new demands will
make it worse.

The student numbers have grown with complete disregard to the mandated
caps of students and in contempt of the court order for Scots to
comply with the cap of student numbers on previous development
consents. Any further consent must repeat and ensure that there is an
enforcement mechanism to ensure that Scots complies with the existing
caps on student numbers.
- This increase in staff and students has resulted in a dramatic
increase in the number of cars and buses using the surrounding
suburban streets, a fact that the NSW Land & Environment Court clearly
agreed to in the 2014 case when Commissioner Dixon stated "...the
school has not undertaken an adequate analysis of the localised
traffic and parking impacts" of the increase student population. She
accepted the local residents evidence of the dangerous traffic
situation surrounding the school on a daily basis. "I am unable to be
satisfied that the proposed increase in student numbers would not have
an unacceptable adverse impact on traffic and parking in the vicinity
of the school. No further car parking spaces are proposed and the
modification sought would not achieve compliance with the minimum car
parking spaces calculated in accordance with the Woollahra Parking
DCP."

The impact on parking and traffic in the street is unbearable, with
queues over one kilometer long , inability to enter my property die to
illegal parking and traffic and illegal parking throughout the suburb
puts child and pedestrian safety at risk. I have personally complained
on many occasions and have been treated contemptuously by the school
and by the headmaster to my legitimate complaints about traffic,
parking, noise and light pollution.

The noise from all the campuses are increasing due to extensive use of
outdoor public address systems.. These should be banned . The Scots
preparatory school uses the outdoor playground ans their assembly hall
with the consequent noise pollution without regard to the surrounding
amenity.

The Council refuses to enforce its powers to restrict student numbers,
to issue fines to illegal parkers , to enforce noise standards or to
upgrade the street infrastructure to address the dysfunctional street
traffic .

Any consent must address the constraints to restore reasonable street
traffic , enforce existing planning controls, address illegal parking,
upgrade on site pick up and drop off to eliminate street activity,
ensure adequate on site parking for students, teachers and parents

. THE PROPOSED BUILD WORKS INCREASES THE FLOOR AREA OF THE CAMPUS, WHICH
SCOTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, ULTIMATELY INCREASES
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS THEY ACCOMODATE ON SITE, ASSOCIATED WITH
THIS IS THE INCREASE IN TEACHING AND NON-ACADEMIC STAFF REQUIRED TO
SERVICE THOSE STUDENTS EDUCATIONAL NEEDS.
THERE CURRENTLY EXISTS A SHORTFALL OF ALMOST 200 CAR SPACES ON THE
VICTORIA ROAD SITE.
. THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN THE STUDENT POPULATION VIRTUALLY EVERY
YEAR FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS ON CAMPUS--THIS IS IN DIRECT CONTRAST TO
THEIR STATEMENT THATB THERE WILL NE " NO INCREASE IN STAFF OR STUDENT
NUMBERS AS A RESULT OF THIS APPLICATION".
. THIS INCREASE IN STAFF AND STUDENTS HAS RESULTED IN A DRAMATIC
INCREASE IN THYE NUMBER OF CARS AND BUSES USING THE SURROUNDING
SUBURBAN STREETS, A FACT THAT THE NSW & ENVIRONMENT COURT CLEARLY
AGREED TO IN THE 2014 CASE WHEN COMMISSIONER DIXON STATED.." THE
SCHOOL HAS NOT UNDERTAKEN AN ADEQUATE ANALYSIS OF THE LOCALISED
TRAFFIC AND PARKING IMPACTS " OF THE INCREASE STUDENT POPULATION. SHE
ACCEPTED THE LOCAL RESIDENCE OF THE DANGEROUS TRAFFIC SITUATION
SURROUNDING
THE SCHOOL ON A DAILY BASIS.
AS A NEXT DOO NEIGHBOUR TO THE SCHOOL,, THE TOTAL LACK OF AMENITY AND
SAFETY CAUSED BY THE CURRENT AND PROPOSED INTOLERABLE TRAFFIC AND
PARKING PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED, AS WELL,AS THE DAILY U-TURNS BY BUSES,
IN FRONT OF OUR PROPERTY, NOT WITHSTANDING THE AIR POLUTION CAUSED, WE
TOTALLY OBJECT TO THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL.

The increase in floor space will definitely lead to and increase the no.
of students and teaching staff. There is already a shortfall in car
spaces. Cranbrook Lane is parked out with barely enough room for 1 way
traffic. Only a matter of time before major car accident. Any increase
in either staff or students will only exacerbate an already very
overcrowded ,dangerous and chaotic
traffic situation which exists in and around Kambala Rd., and Victoria
rd. Under no circumstances can any increase in the numbers of either
students or staff be approved. Approval would be irresponsible.

The school simply ignores that there is a significant shortfall of
carspaces required for compliance and expects the local residents to
deal with the ramifications of this shortfall on a daily basis. It is
rare to find a carspace in Rupertswood Ave or North end of Kambala Rd
during a weekday due to teachers/student parking.

The traffic situation in the morning and afternoon drop off/pick up
times along Victoria Rd are dangerous. The problem on Kambala Rd is
even worse. Cars are parking in the no stopping areas and blocking
driveways creating severe blackspots whilst there are children
generally under the age of 8 crossing the road. The teachers that
stand on Kambala Rd to retrieve the children do nothing to enforce the
parents follow basic road rules.

There has been an increase in the student population virtually every
year for the past decade and currently the school is already in breach
of its student cap. Despite Scots promising no increase in student
numbers, history shows us they simply ignore their student cap and
grow their staff and student base as they wish.

The School has not adequately complied with existing requirements in
relation to car spaces and student numbers. The Court should be aware
that there is a shortfall of 200 car spaces and student numbers far
exceed the cap by 393 students.

Given the lack of appropriate infrastructure and traffic planning to
manage these issues, I have real concerns about the safety of
students, teachers, local children and the general community. I have
personally witnessed a number of "near misses" involving children from
the School and neighborhood. There are also terrible traffic
conditions with no clear guidance being provided to parents by the
school.

In short, the chaos at drop off/pick up times presents a unacceptable
level of risk and a loss of amenity for the local community and in
particular neighbors.

As part of the consideration of any project, I submit that the School
should be required to prepare a comprehensive solution to the safety
and traffic issues including traffic management plan, car park and
onsite parking and drop-off. It is surprising that the School
continues to ignore these issues, despite previous comments by the NSW
Land & Environment Court in 2014 when Commissioner Dixon stated
"...the school has not undertaken an adequate analysis of the
localised traffic and parking impacts" of the increase student
population.

The current plan will only exacerbate the problem.

It is so disappointing that Scots would again not consider the impact
their lacking of parking for staff and students, and gross over
enrollment have created

No one coming to our home can park on our street during school term,
not an electrician, gardener, visitor, etc. because the street is
filled with P-plates parked so closely together you can barely walk
between them. Cars are parked on kerbs, and blocking driveways. The
boys leave rubbish on the street outside their car doors. They speed
up and down the street and come out of school during the day with
their mates and hang out at their cars in large groups.

During school term I cannot park in front of my own house due to the
extreme number of cars on our small, narrow street. And it's not just
students, it's teachers, coaches and other staff.

During school breaks our street is beautiful and quiet with parking as
needed. During school term it is chaos.

Scots needs to build a parking lot. And they need to build an internal
drop off zone. Currently, boys cross Cranbrook road (at Victoria Rd)
after being dropped off there or walking to school- and there is no
nearby crosswalk. Trying to turn right from Cranbrook Road onto
Victoria Road is incredibly dangerous as there are about 7 massive
buses lining both sides of Victoria road at that intersection and you
cannot see around them to turn right safely. They need an internal
drop off zone, a crossing guard, traffic control, parking for staff
and students, and to have their enrollment limit enforced.

I am a resident of Cranbrook Lane & severely impacted by school pupils on
P plates parking in the street. Often trucks cannot deliver as cars
are parked on the curve outside 21 Cranbrook Lane not allowing enough
room for larger vehicles to pass. Many attempts to resolve this crisis
with the school have left no solution. I can imagine construction will
be a nightmare with trucks & workers adding to the existing problems.
I doubt any promise that the school makes, as I have never been shown
any true willingness to solve problems.
Exiting Cranbrook Lane onto Cranbrook Rd is often hazardous as the No
Stopping sign [which I requested] is often ignored by Four Wheel Drive
vehicles.
I wish to object to the DA in the strongest of terms.

The impact of Scots College is already unacceptable as they continue to
be in breach of the existing permitted number of students. Despite
their protestations, student numbers have continued to rise. The
increase in traffic, parking problems, and noise is inevitable as no
consideration has ever been given by them to address these issues.
Their drop off 'system' exposes the children and residents to risks.
Why is this not being internalised? It is a huge safety issue.