Stuck in the middle school parking dispute

[KANNET]

So. We walk to school, as do many children who go to our school, I would estimate about 75% ish do. It's a tiny catchment area.

The school is also in an area surrounded by old houses with almost no parking.

The people in the surrounding Streets have been complaining to the school about parents parking on the roads surrounding the school. The school have sent several emails asking parents to be considerate with Parking.

The local residents have decided this is not good enough so loads of them have started leaving their bins out to block the road.

I absolutely get both sides, some parents need to drive to school and there is very little parking, but it's annoying have school cars block up the road.

However those of us who walk are now really struggling, we are having to try and move round parked cars and bins, especially hard for anyone with a pram, I don't even know how anyone in a wheelchair would manage at all. Lots of us end up having to walk in the road, this is asking for an accident.

I honestly don't know what the answer is but it's so annoying.

The school say they are speaking to the residents to try and find a solution but I honestly don't know what they can do.

I used to live opposite a primary school in a street of terraced houses. There were double yellow lines on the side of the road closest to my school so parents could only park on my side of the road, outside my house.

I don't see any problem with that. If there is a space and it's legal then they can park. I didn't have children myself back then.

If I was attempting to park legally in a street and a resident had blocked the space with a bin or cones I would get out and move the bin/cones out of the way. If they are leaving the bins in the road or blocking the pavement then the residents are wrong. In my area you would be fined by the council for doing that.

In order to get residents parking a certain percentage of the residents would have to agree and they would have to pay for permits. I'm guessing they are not prepared to do that.

@Calabasa - if you do have an off-street parking space, couldn't you park your other car on the street, leaving your off-street space for the car you use to pick up your DD?

I think those saying 'you knew when you bought your house' have never lived by a school! It is infuriating how inconsiderate a minority of parents can be: blocking the road, idling engines, dropping litter. I do think the school have a moral responsibility to make reasonable efforts to influence this. They might not be able to bollock parents, but they can send out emails reinforcing what is acceptable. The headteacher of our worst offending local school (secondary) came and stood at the top of our road during drop - off one day recently, which did improve parental behaviour! (and not just on the day)

In contrast to a few pp, I've actually found that the staggered start has helped. It's busy for longer, but at least it doesn't become completely grid-locked. It was bad for a few weeks at the start of term, when I think many parents were driving kids in rather than them taking the bus, but seems to have settled down a bit now.

Is there a pub or a church nearby? I've heard some schools make arrangements with pubs, so they can use their parking during the day for a fee which the PTA can fund-raise for.

They are punishing the people walking to school, which is weirdly what they want everyone to do
This would annoy me, how stupid of them. They are irritated by people legally parking in their street so they decide to take it on pedestrians.

I would push the bins back into the front gardens - just past the entrance so they have to move them to get in/out, and if they get tipped over, so be it.

This is why I would never ever buy a house near a school.

I thought it was very common knowledge that some children (the ones who are driven) have to be dropped right outside the school gates....these parents can't park elsewhere and walk 200m, no no no.

Meanwhile the rest of us walk/cycle and our children's lives are out more at risk by this school traffic.