Ballina preschool requests council impose time-limited parking in River Street

Frustrated with parking problems, Ballina River Street Children’s Centre has asked council to consider timed-limited parking in four marked angle-parking spaces in River Street.

The petition will be discussed at Ballina’s Local Traffic Committee meeting, later this week.

The director of a Ballina preschool has requested time-limited parking in River Street, adjacent to the education centre.

Ballina River Street Children’s Centre, located at 12 River St, has asked council to consider timed-limited parking in four marked angle-parking spaces in River Street, adjacent to the centre.

The spaces would be marked and signed immediately west of the existing disabled carparking space.

The time-limited parking would be for half an hour, between from 8am and 9.30am and from 2.30pm to 4pm on school days.

An aerial view of the preschool's location.

The preschool’s director, Maxine Smith, explained the reasons for the petition.

“We are a community-based preschool, and have been for 40 years providing quality education the families of Ballina – as an old preschool at the time of establishment, no parking was allocated,” she said.

“As Ballina is becoming increasingly busy, and we now have many more cars, all requiring somewhere to park, it is becoming very hard for families to park out the front of preschool to drop and collect their children each day.

“They often have to park across the road or far up the street and then try and walk and negotiate crossing with young children (aged three to five years) and many families also have a baby.

“The 86 families and children of River Street Preschool would be very appreciative if you would consider this request.

“The safety of the children and families trying to negotiating parking and crossing the road with young would be directly affected by these

changes, as they would have somewhere to park for the short drop off and collection of their child.”

Council staff recommended council support the measure.

The petition will be discussed at Ballina’s Local Traffic Committee meeting, to be held at council chambers on Wednesday, June 9.