Irabina Autism Services: Residents fear traffic chaos over Bayswater North redevelopment plans

A resident in a quiet Croydon street fears his disabled sister will be unable to catch the bus to school and his street will be clogged if a huge townhouse development is approved.

Croydon's Samuel Hausler, right, fears a school bus won't be able to pick up his disabled sister Lucy, centre, if a proposed townhouse development goes ahead in his street. Picture: Supplied.

A group of Maroondah locals fear a proposed Maroondah townhouse development will clog streets and even prevent a teen with disabilities from getting to school

Maroondah Council is assessing an application to knock down the ageing home of Irabina Autism Services for 37 townhouses and a childcare centre at 191-193 Bayswater Rd in Bayswater North.

Irabina is set to move to a new purpose-built facility on Stud Rd in Bayswater, owned by the same developer planning the townhouse project.

But residents in surrounding streets, including Croydon South’s Central Ave and Jasmine Rd, fear the project will lead to traffic chaos and access problems during construction and after it is finished.

Central Ave resident Sam Hausler’s sister Lucy, 16, is in a wheelchair and gets picked up by a bus outside their home to attend Croydon Special Developmental School.

Mr Hausler said extra traffic would put the arrangement in jeopardy and place extra financial pressure on his family to get her to school.

“If it gets worse than it currently is, we’re not going to be able to have the security to know we can get her on the bus on the morning,” he said.

“We need to be able to get the bus to the kerb so we can use the hoist and get her onto the bus, she can’t just roll up to the front door.

“We’re already tight with money, and if we can’t get her on the bus, to afford the bill to get her back and forth every day is a big stretch.”

Planning documents show 65 trees are set to be removed on the site and entry to the new townhouse estate would be via Jasmine Rd, which is only accessible from Central Ave.

Readers expressed more concerns on Maroondah Leader’s Facebook page, with Cheri Mays saying access to the site was already “horrid”.

“And even when not visiting, turning cars congest the road. Imagine having 37-plus cars going in and out daily,” she wrote.

Manda James added: “Traffic is already horrendous at times on Bayswater Rd and you want to add to it. Make the road two lanes first before you shove more housing on it!”

Irabina chief executive Deb Goldfinch said the site was sold to the developer, Bayswater North Development Limited, last year.

Ms Goldfinch said the developer had assisted the organisation to secure its new Stud Rd Home, and its 100 staff and 400 clients planned to move mid-year.

But Maroondah mayor Kylie Spears said Irabina still owned the site and the council had received 46 submissions to the plans as of March 1.

Cr Spears said council would make a decision once feedback from the community had been reviewed.