Collingwood College has a wonderful success story

Young urbanist and local champion Denali started prep at the school in 2018.  After starting school, Denali had a spill on the broken and uneven footpath along the south side of the school.  He wondered why the footpath was in such a poor state, and noticed that students were also forced into a narrow space, parked cars having taken over the footpath. Denali and his father explored around the school taking notes of where improvements were necessary, and raised it with Yarra Council.  The key items raised were:

  • Poor footpath surface
  • Parked cars encroaching over footpath
  • Incomplete crossings
  • Cars parking across accessibility ramps
Parked cars encroached on footpath prior to intervention, making it difficult for kids to get into the school, often shuffling by in single file.
Cars parked across the ramp, zebra crossing to nowhere, and raised pits

Ross Evans from Yarra’s civil engineering department, who has a passion for accessibility, promptly responded with an action plan to address all of the items.  This was put into action during the mid-year break, scheduled for completion by the time school re-opened for term 3. It was a great opportunity to see the works in action.

Refilling the pits around the trees with a firm, compressed clay/sand like substance
Fixes in progress for Vere St
Wheel stops to keep parked cars from blocking the footpath.

Post-works, Denali and his father met Ross on site to review the improvements, and discuss their passions for a more accessible city that promotes children walking, scooting and riding to school!

That’s better – now school kids can walk side-by-side!
Testing out the surface – this compacted sand substance allows the trees to grow freely while expanding the useable surface for walking and is firm enough for skateboards, scooters, etc.
Even prior to the road resurfacing, the new ramps made a big improvement – the ramps now meet accessibility guidelines and fix the previously missing link across the street. The new ramp position will avoid cars blocking the ramp for wheeled users.
The new ramp position does not conflict with parked cars and provides a more natural “desire line” across the road. Resurfaced road now smooth and level.
Sharing passions for good quality footpaths, Denali and Mr Evans from the City of Yarra.

Local champion

Your local champion for Collingwood College is Denali, Yarra resident & student. View all of Streets Alive Yarra’s champions on our supporters page.

Image credit: Troy Parsons

Enjoys getting around Abbotsford and Collingwood by bike and scooter, and is a fan of level footpaths and at-grade access (i.e. does not like bridges).

Troy Parsons
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