(u"Brandon Park Preschool teacher Julie Sanders (second from left) with student Raymond, 4, and mum Rosi Gribben with her daughter Emma, 3, across the 'rat run' street from the school. Picture: Rob Carew",)
PARENTS at the Brandon Park Preschool face an indefinite wait on a car park they say is needed to ensure their children's safety.
Despite pleas by parents and teachers for a car park to be established near the school, Monash Council has instead decided to provide six indented car spaces opposite the school to be used as a drop-off and pick-up zone.
The preschool has identified a state-owned, unused block of land opposite, but Monash Council says the state government is refusing to hand over the site for a car park.
The council is considering pressuring a private developer to provide parking if, and when, the site is sold by the state.
The council comments follow its adoption of the Brandon Park structure plan draft last week. The plan will rezone parts of the suburb, redevelop vacant land for residential use and maintain public open space.
Brandon Park Preschool teacher Julie Sanders says that in its current form, the draft is "grossly inappropriate" for the needs of the community.
Ms Sanders says that parents at present do not have a safe place to take their children out of the car. "Many of our families have multiple children to take out of their car, so they can't always take them out on the footpath side.
"Sometimes they do have to take a child out on the roadside and that puts them at a huge risk for the cars that barrel through."
Ms Sanders says the street is being used as a "rat run" for cars wanting to go out to Brandon Park Drive and Ferntree Gully Road.
"We've had cars that have been hit with side mirrors taken off. We are just so scared that ... it's going to take out a parent or child or both."
Former preschool president Steve Yanko echoed her concerns.
"We're basically worried that a child is going to actually die. We've had situations where we've had near misses and that's always been a concern," he said.
"Our philosophy has always been that the cost of the car park will always be cheaper than the cost of a child's life.
"For nine years the community has been asking for a car park on that block of land. Why is it not included in this structure plan?"
But Monash mayor Micaela Drieberg said it was because the council did not own the land opposite the school.
"We know the preschool doesn't have enough on-site parking to meet its needs. We've tried to help by stating in the structure plan that some more short-term parking be provided near the preschool."