Private school cancels buses despite traffic snarl that’s already left neighbours housebound

A private school has cancelled bus services that the local council says it must run, raising concerns about student safety and leaving some neighbours feeling housebound when traffic clogs their street.

Providing ongoing school bus services has been a condition of Carey Baptist Grammar’s planning permit for its Donvale junior campus since 1990. The school’s only access point is via a driveway at the end of Era Court, a short cul-de-sac for 15 homes.

However, this year, Carey cancelled the three bus services it operated due to declining passenger numbers and poor financial viability.

The co-educational school, which this year charges $41,152 for grade 6 students, also said parents rejected the school’s November proposal to make the buses a user-pays service.

School parents, who asked not to be named so they could speak freely, said the move would compromise student safety and add to the traffic congestion that chokes Springvale Road and Era Court at peak times.

One parent said if student numbers were falling, minibuses could replace coaches to keep the service affordable.

The Manningham Council received more than a dozen objections from parents and residents after the school, which did not notify residents of the change, applied in December to amend the planning permit.

Andre Chin was among the residents to make a submission and said a bus service made sense.

“It would be better if there were buses because if a bus comes into the court, people give way. But no one gives way to a car,” he said. “If you stop buses, more cars will come through.”

Chin said that at peak times, if a car wanted to turn right onto Springvale Road, it could take him 15 minutes to exit Era Court.

Neighbours, Judy and Dale Cowan, also made a submission to the Manningham Council, which hosted a meeting between the objectors and the school on April 27.

“I have had to call an ambulance for my husband before, and thank goodness it wasn’t during school time so they could get to him,” she said. “But imagine if a child needed an ambulance. It wouldn’t be able to get through.”

Dale, a retired traffic engineer, said the court was book-ended by the sole access point to the school and busy Springvale Road, making it ill-equipped to cope with the traffic volumes.

“It’s a disaster. If you get too many cars coming in, it just backs up down Springvale Road.”

The couple said the twice-daily traffic snarls impacted the way they lived, with medical and social appointments arranged around school traffic patterns. Judy said she couldn’t host Probus Club meetings because there was nowhere for guests to park.

Era Court resident Andrea Eldridge said buses would help congestion, but only if they were used.

“There are so many people dropping kids off at school on their way to work because it’s convenient,” she said.

Carey Grammar said the after-school bus service was used by up to 28 students last year. Seven students used the morning bus service, while 17 expressed interest in using the buses this year.

The school has argued that it should only run buses when the number of vehicles using the residential cul-de-sac for school purposes tops 1024 a day.

“The school has requested that the requirement for the bus service be separated from student numbers and be attached to the traffic movements,” a spokeswoman said.

Currently, there are about 230 students enrolled at Donvale, but that is forecast to fall to less than 200 in 2027, following the school’s announcement that it would close the campus next year.

Carey has run a junior school in Donvale since 1989. The campus will be sold once all primary students move to the school’s Kew campus in 2028.

Manningham Council acting director of city planning and liveability, Julia Jenvey, said the school’s application would be assessed “in full accordance with planning scheme requirements”.

The council doesn’t currently require Carey to monitor or report vehicle movements under the permit, but a spokesperson said it could request traffic data or conduct its own monitoring if a complaint was made or as part of an investigation.

Carey is consolidating its campuses after purchasing a neighbouring Kew property from private school minnow Preshil last year.

The school will use the campus’ double-storey Victorian mansion for classrooms. It also plans to build a centre for year 5 and 6 students and a new sports and wellbeing facility with an underground car park.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.