FOUNDATION Christian College (FCC) principal Andrew Newhouse has expressed concerns for children walking to school after the addition of a service station and restaurant in Greenfields.
The Caltex petrol station and McDonald’s restaurant on Lakes Road opened last month despite strong opposition from parents, school staff and residents.
The site is opposite FCC and backs on to the Riverside Primary School oval.
Concerns were raised about traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, litter, noise, odour and heath impacts, especially on FCC and Riverside students.
The development was approved by the Peel Joint Development Assessment Panel last May after it was rejected by Mandurah councillors.
Mr Newhouse said the students now had to cross several large driveways in the area, which was particularly dangerous for younger children.
“The driveways to the businesses are exceptionally large and there are no warnings to remind motorists of pedestrians in the area,” he said.
“Unless they walk with parents, the dangers have increased."
Mr Newhouse said double driveways, which allow one car to enter and one to leave at the same time, were hard for children to navigate.
He said speed bumps or signs could remind drivers that there were lots of children in the area each morning and afternoon.
Mr Newhouse and Riverside Primary School principal Deborah Bloor both said there had been a dramatic rise in the amount of litter in the area since the businesses opened, the majority of which was food packaging.
This week Mr Newhouse used the school newsletter to remind that students were not permitted to leave school grounds during the day to go to businesses in the area.
“It’s about duty of care for our students, once students arrive at school they need to stay in the grounds,” he said.
Mr Newhouse said he was not opposed to the businesses in other locations but said they were incompatible between two schools.
