It’s no secret that development applications in the Kiama region are slowly rising, developers attracted to the coastal scenery know their investment will be worthwhile. 

A development application has been put forward to council for a mixed use development on Thomson Street. The proposal includes the demolition of two houses to make way for a lower floor commercial premise, basement parking and 17 top-shop housing units.

Community members have raised concerns over a separate proposal on Akuna Street, with public interest topics such as visual impact to the town's skyline and traffic congestion.

The Thomson Street development, costing approximately $9 million to build, is undergoing referrals to key utility companies such as Sydney Water and Endeavour Energy. 

Traffic congestion is an issue for a concerned Kiama resident, “Another large development on that already congested Woolworths Corner roundabout will make it almost impossible for traffic to flow smoothly around the area.”

Parents and staff of Kiama Public School are no strangers to heavy traffic congestion during the morning and afternoon school rush. Growing frustrations around the Terralong Street thoroughfare have been simmering away in the community, the latest council Kiama Traffic and Parking Study published in 2021 provided little to no hope of improvement. 

The study found that there is no need for an increase in public car parking in the Kiama CBD within the next ten years. 

Despite the study acknowledging the ‘parking issues around the town centre’, the school has experienced first-hand the risks of increased traffic congestion for their little ones. 

The school, bounded by Thomson, Bong Bong and Collins Street sees vehicles using their thoroughfare roads to avoid stand-still traffic, rumble strips and high pedestrian activity on Terralong Street.

Cathryn Lyall, President of the Kiama Public School Parents & Citizens Association (P&C) has witnessed first hand the implications of insufficient parking in the centre of town.

“Traffic around the school has been an ongoing problem for staff and parents for quite some time. We’re one of the few schools that is surrounded by three busy roads,” she noted.

Heavy traffic poses a serious concern for the public school, where pick-up and drop-off time creates a frenzy as parents feel the effects of a lack of designated parking in the area to safely bring their children to the school and collect them at the end of the day. 

Kiama Public School operates a ‘Kiss and Drop’ zone that accommodates six vehicles during pick up and drop off times. Parking rangers have been known to frequent the school during busy hours and fine parents who go over the two minute maximum queue time. 

However, there are no options for parents to avoid the busy queue and park safely near the school entrance. 

“It’s a very fraught process, something that we have raised with the council time and time again,” Lyall continued.

The P&C Association advocated for a dedicated crossing on Collins Street and the addition of a lollipop person and were successful. $100,000 was allocated for the installation of a children’s pedestrian crossing on Collins Street, along with pedestrian fencing on Bong Bong Street entrance, the fencing was to help push pedestrians to a safer area and perform a barrier between buses and vehicles.

“In accordance with standards and due to the steep grade of Collins Street, the crossing could not be installed at the location”, a Kiama Council spokesperson said. The Council installed additional no stopping zones to improve pedestrian access and road safety around the school, however, no further works are planned for the school at this time.

“Adding more traffic on Thomson, which is the main thoroughfare for pick up and drop off… is going to cause significant challenges,” Lyall continued. 

A concerned parent of KPS took the challenge head on, developing a Road Safety Report with the support of the P&C Association, outlining 30 recommendations to improve school road safety. The report was pitched to councillors who advised they would take the information on-board. At the time of writing, no recommendations from the report have been actioned by Council.



Three school teachers are required to chaperone students to the adjoining playing fields, two teachers walk with a crocodile of kids to the fields, while one teacher looks out for any cars coming past the Thomson and Bong Bong Street intersection.

According to research from AAMI, more than 360,000 motor insurance claims across the country between 2020 and 2021, afternoon school pick-up hours are the most common time for crashes.  

During construction of the Thomson Street development, it is expected that the maximum number of truck movements throughout the day will be just under 40. The truck movements are expected to be staged to reduce impact on traffic flows.