What do we do now?

[Amy214]

We live near a primary school and for the past year the parents have increasingly used the street as a drop off/pick up point. They have blocked my car in 3 times and i have had to wait until they come back to ask them not to do it again as i may be trying to get to something important and it's really not fair (dds doctors appointment) i now avoid leaving my house around school times because i hate the hassle. Today i finally reached the end of my tether when a parent was inches away from crashing into me when she decided to reverse out (at full speed) into a main road. I was slowing down as i was approaching the junction but i still had to perform an emergency stop and scared dd. When she finally parked i asked her why she done that as it was a very dangerous manoeuvre and if someone wasn't paying attention like me it could've ended badly. She cried and told me she was running late for picking her dd up which i then told her was no excuse and she needs to be more careful in future. I approached another parent and asked her if she or other parents have ever spoken to the school themselves to see if they could fund a new car park (the current car park is tiny) and she lost her temper at me and asked why should they it's fine the way it is. I have complained to the school numerous times and they say they understand and they have loads of complaints everyday but won't do anything about it. I literally begged them for help even if they can send someone to help organise the traffic as i am frightened someone is going to get hurt. The children constantly run around on the road and with parents driving to fast it is an accident waiting to happen. But they will not do anything. I have complained to the council and our local pcso but nothing has been done. I have asked other residents that live here and they are getting fed up aswell. Our local mp is having a public meeting on monday which i will attend to see if she can help in anyway. I have been taking a note of how many cars come in the morning and afternoon, also number plates. But what can i do now? It seems like no one wants to do anything about it..

[redexpat]

Keep on. Keep a detailed diary, especially of near misses. Photos of cars blocking you in. Email council, local police, school, MP, get a paper trail goig. If you can come up with some potential solutions, then i think you will be better received.

[redexpat]

And i didnt think you were allowed to reverse onto a main road?

[TheWitTank]

Agree with resexpat. Photos, contact local newspaper and MP, PCSO, school governors.

[Snowflakes1122]

It's a similar scenario throughout the country it would seem. My dcs schools are the same with parents stopping and dropping and blocking drives.
Yanbu in being annoyed, but not sure what can be done.

[KC225]

Contact local parking wardens

[AmeliaJack]

Our school regularly reminds parents to be courteous neighbours.

Why on earth isn't the Connunuty Police office coming to have a look?

Personally I'f be calling the police if people were blocking me into my drive that regularly.

Can you take some pictures as evidence?

[MrsS1980]

Have they built the school since you bought your house? If not you should have taken it into account when buying!

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

My DC's old school had this problem in spades. They launched a 'safer school run' campaign, encouraging parents to park & walk etc - but none of it works.

IME of parking there, about 95% of parking parents do so responsibly, but then you get the tossers, and then a couple of people each day who are late/stressed and park badly 'just this once won't matter'.

I sympathise OP - I'm not near a school, but where I live people still park over my drive because "they were only going to be a minute' Do you have a sign up saying 'Please don't block the drive" ? We found instances reduced after we put a sign up.

I guess just keep on at the school, send them photos of the numberplates of offenders and so on.

[ShoeEatingMonster]

We constantly have problems with parents parking inconsiderately at our school. You say the school won't do anything but what exactly do you think they should be doing? Other than repeatedly telling them and publishing number plates we get complaints about we have no authority! The parents just won't listen to us.

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

The only thing that works is a teacher actually standing out there at drop off & pick up times.

DS's secondary school does this, and it stops the twattery dead. (In fact, it's normally the Head and the Deputy) But obvs - that's more for people parking on the white zig-zags, turning around in the school entrance (so dangerous!) - not so sure they'd be able to police neighbour's driveways so much. It's great to have them so visible though.

[NoFuchsGiven]

We have a Facebook group for our area where people and their cars are shamed for parking like a dick outside schools. The local paper ran a story on it. Could you maybe do something like that?

[Amy214]

I took pictures of all the cars waiting in the area today (had to hang out my upstairs window to get the full extent) they send out newsletters to the parents but they don't help.
I was supposed to have a call back from the pcso but nothing yet. Council haven't called me back so i am planning on calling them back tomorrow.
I called the police today about the near collision but they only took her number plate and told me someone would come out and talk to me which i don't expect to happen.
The local schools all have catchment areas and are all within walking distance of most parents houses. I can point out the serial offenders whilst i'm walking with my dd and most of them live 5 minutes away. The town we live in is very small and i can walk from one end to the other in less than 30 minutes. And its not a case of having to leave earlier to walk some of them already arrive as early as 8.15am to guarantee a space.

[woodhill]

I live near a primary school and it has expanded in class numbers since we moved here. It is pretty awful.

Luckily I go to work beforehand and make sure I'm back after the parents are picking up.

I'm surprised the traffic wardens aren't coming down. It's not on for you to be blocked in by the parents.

[Amy214]

MrsS1980 the school has been there as long as our house. Since around 1980s. It never used to be this bad. I think most people used to walk and only the odd person drove. It was a quiet little street which was why i loved it but now we're looking at moving if it doesn't get sorted.

[TheWitTank]

I would contact the local paper and get photographed cross armed with a daily fail sad face outside the school. Nothing like a bit of media attention to encourage action from the school/council.

[Amy214]

Even if a teacher was present to stop people being idiots then that would be great!

[MidniteScribbler]

Even if a teacher was present to stop people being idiots then that would be great!

Sure, because teachers are really just overpaid traffic controllers with nothing better to do with their time.

[RhodaBorrocks]

We have this at my DS's school. It's on a side road, so the residents got the road made a permit only zone.

The only exception is blue badges. I am one of half a dozen parents with one that is allowed to park on the road. But it doesn't stop other parents, taxis etc. parking along the road, blocking people in.

The blue badgers (lol) understand its a privilege and park at the end of the road, away from drives and drop kerbs, but the other parents just don't give a shit. With it being a new school year it's currently really bad. We have traffic wardens and PCSOs out periodically, but they sometimes contradict each other (the PCSOs told the blue badgers to park closer to the school, but that's where the driveways are) so we generally go with what the council appointed traffic wardens say.

If you have enough neighbours that are inconvenienced could you campaign to get the road made permit only? Does the school have enough land to expand the car park without encroaching on their field etc? Don't forget that both of these would be funded out of taxpayer money, so the council will want to go with the cheapest option.

Sadly it is part and parcel of living next to a school. I live right down the road, next to the secondary school and have an allocated parking space. But if I come home between 2:30 and 3:30pm there is always a twatty parent parked in there, usually in a BMW, Merc or Range Rover and I've been told to 'fucking get over it' when I've asked for my space back. I'm actually considering to have it rezoned as a disabled bay.

[wonderingsoul]

This happened at our school.

Nothing much was done untill a child got knockdd over. Thankfully was just broken bones but could have been fatal.

Now we have tearchers out there most mornings and after school. Nurmouse letters home reminding parents.

Even the police have come out on occasions to atand and watch.

It was sad it took aomething so seriouse for it to happen but sadder that parents still dont listen. All because they want to be that little bit closer so darlings dont have to walk a extra 5 minutes.

Keep doing what your doing. Take photos. Take photos of cars. Keep dairys if all incidents.
Maybe a petition from all your neigjbours etc
Hopfully youll get some where.

[ringoffire]

I see this outside of my son's school all of the time, I feel sorry for anyone who lives in the road

[TheWernethWife]

School must know who these parents are by now, they should be told that they are putting children in danger and if they carry on with their dangerous parking and driving then their own children will no longer be welcome in the school.

[Scholes34]

Actually, the Head, or one of the management team, at our secondary school is usually on duty at the gate at the end of every day. It's much more than traffic control. I was amazed when I happened to be waiting for DD one afternoon how the Head knew by name the vast majority of the 1,200 students. Fifteen minutes of his time went a long way for school morale, and keeping the cars away.

[kaitlinktm]

Presumably there aren't the same problems with parents picking up children at a secondary school though. As a secondary teacher I had to do some after school duties including at the gate - but I wasn't there to police the traffic, only to ensure the safety of students.

[Amy214]

We have 4 teachers (or people that work at the school) that park in the spaces all day, i have reported them but they still do it even after they said they would 'have a word' with them.
I was hoping the headteacher could help, i really don't want any children to get hurt.
Sadly they all live close by and i just don't understand why they aren't encouraged to walk.
The head or deputy head is busy taking a group of children to the nearby bus stop (school bus) at the end of the day so i'm not sure if she would even be able to help out.

[Amy214]

kaitlinktm there is no problems with the secondary school. If a teacher or pcso could just keep an eye out to make sure the children are safe it would make everything just that little bit better. There would be no dangerous driving/speeding/parking and everyone would be happier (i would be) but no one seems to take it seriously and i think they are sick of me phoning up everyday complaining (so much that i don't think my dd will get a place there)