A CONCERNED resident is appealing for authorities to fix the parking situation at Pakenham Consolidated School before someone gets hurt.

Darrel Bacon, who lives in Broadbent Way, believes it is only a matter of time before tragedy occurs unless something is done to fix the problem.

“Something needs to be done before it’s too late,” he said.

Mr Bacon said large number of cars double parking near the Meeking Drive roundabout at pick-up times created a potentially fatal situation.

“It’s pretty bad, particularly at afternoon pick-up time,” he said.

“There are kids opening car doors on both sides of the road.

“I’ve seen a couple of near-misses and I’ve been involved in one myself.”

Two weeks ago, a girl was killed when she was struck by a four-wheel-drive when attempting to cross the road after getting of a school bus in Nambrok, near Sale.

Mr Bacon said something had to be done to prevent a similar accident occurring at Pakenham Consolidated school.

“What happened in Sale the other week, we don’t want that happening here,” he said.

Mr Bacon said a larger parking area and the erection of No Standing signs on Meeking Drive would help make the area safer at school pick-up times.

“The council has enough land where the car park is to make a huge car park. There’s no need for this,” he said.

“Parents are parking in the football ground and walking across the creek to pick up their kids.

“There’s not enough parking.”

Mr Bacon said he was disappointed by the response of the Cardinia Council, which he had contacted more than once.

“They put me on to by-laws and nothing has been done,” he said.

But Cardinia’s manager of governance and communications Doug Evans said the situation was under control and local-law officers were sent to schools regularly at pick-up and drop-off times.

“We are well aware of the situation, particularly at the Rundell Way end of the school,” he said.

“Officers are sent out quite regularly to issue parking infringements.”

Mr Evans said Pakenham Consolidated School had adequate parking.

“The school has quite a large parking area,” he said.

“We work with all schools in an attempt to provide adequate parking.”

Mr Evans urged parents to be careful when driving around the school and when choosing a place to park.

“We ask parents to be aware of parking issues at primary schools and to be sensible about where they park. Drivers found parking in restricted areas will be fined,” he said.

Pakenham Consolidated School principal Leonie Campbell said traffic around the school became quite congested at pick-up times but a bigger car park was not necessarily the solution.

“There are some other ways around it,” she said.

“We encourage children to ride their bike or walk to school.

“Parents are encouraged to park up a bit further and meet their children at the school.

Ms Campbell said it was important for children and parents to be sensible at school pick-up times by adhering to road safety rules.

“We ask kids to use the school crossing,” she said.

“It’s also about parents being aware of the road rules and following them.”