By MELISSA MEEHAN
RESIDENTS of The Patch have had a win, after the Yarra Ranges Council overturned their decision to put up No Stopping signs outside their properties.
Last week Marlene and Ross Byrne contacted the Mail concerned about the council’s plan to install No Stopping signs along the Kallista-Emerald Road from The Patch Primary School to The Patch Road.
“We’ve lived here for 42 years and there is literally no place for our visitors to park if these signs are allowed to go up,” Ms Byrne said.
“We understand that it is becoming an issue of safety at school times, because the kids walk along the footpath, but we don’t believe it should be 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.”
They said that the school was built as a small school for a small community, but over time the school had become more popular and students were coming from as far as Emerald and Monbulk.
“We have nothing against the school, but we feel as though the council is trying a band-aid approach to the traffic problems,” Mr Byrne said.
“We were here long before the school, and we don’t think we should be affected like this.”
Yarra Ranges Council Director Environment and Engineering Mark Varmalis said the No Stopping signs were proposed to advise drivers not to park on the footpath – something that the road rules stipulate is not allowed.
“The No Stopping signs were being proposed as another way of advising drivers not to park on the footpath,” Mr Varmalis said.
“However, due to a number of resident concerns that the signs would also restrict parking on the road for visitors to their properties, Council has decided not to go ahead with these signs,” he said.
“As an alternative, guide posts which were installed to separate the footpath from the road, will be retained to ensure motorists don’t confuse the footpath with a gravel road shoulder.”
Mr Varmalis said residents would be advised of the decision shortly.
