School parking issues- is there ever a solution?

[MinnieMountain]

DS’s infants school has been doing School Streets since September. This means that the street (dead end which ends at the school) leading up to the school is supposed to be residents only during drop off and pick up times.

Recently parents have got particularly bad for ignoring the sign.

I’m a school governor and I’m going in to see the HT soon to discuss health and safety.

Can the collective wisdom of MN help me with ideas I can put to her to get the lazy fuckers to obey the rules? Weekly reminders in the school newsletter get ignored.

The scheme is not legally enforceable as we’re not in London.

Perhaps schools can allocate staff to be at designated points to ensure children are chivied along after they jump out of the car?

I’ll be honest. There is nothing you can do because far too many parents in this country are selfish and entitled and don’t give a shit about safety or anyone else’s convenience. Their right to get their child too and from school is more important than anyone else. I can give lots of examples.

I live near a primary school. Most parents live within walking distance. Over the years the headteacher has begged and pleaded with parents to show more consideration after a child was knocked over outside the school. They ignore it.

I worked in another primary school. Similar catchment, but more affluent. The headteacher decided to put her foot down and began to put cones down outside the school to stop parents parking there as it dangerous and blocking buses etc from getting down the road. One day a parent drove up, got out of the car removed the cones and parked his car there. It wasn’t an isolated incident.

Another school. Residents of a cul de sac next to it got so sick of the parents blocking their drives etc during pick up and drop off they got together and formed a barricade to stop them getting onto their road. It ended with the police being called as parents became aggressive and threatened the residents.

@OneEpisode

A volunteer group collecting the children from the safe parking area and walking them crocodile style to the school can work.

That sounds like the best idea to me. It would stop parents needing to drive to the school and clogging up the local streets when dropping of their kids.

As much as it would be nice for every household to have a SAHP who has the time to walk their kids to school, this just doesn't work in reality if both parents need to work, if you live a long distance from the school or have to drop children off to several different schools at the same time.

Sorry, I was doing the school run then we had friends round.

It looks like volunteers to remind parents is the only solution.

To answer a few questions:
-there are breakfast and after school clubs.
-some of the children live outside the catchment area but I expect in a few years it will be completely catchment only.

• the danger is because it’s a short cul-de-sac of 10 houses on each side so it easily get full up with people parking and therefore there is also less space for the cars to turn round when they leave.

-there is secure parking for bikes and scooters.

I appreciate Im in the minority but I have invisible mobility issues and although I live close enough that most people can walk, but I cannot and my children are too young to walk alone and cross the main road. I have had mardy people give me filthy looks and make comments about people using cars very loudly so I can hear.

I get there is a bigger issue here, but please dont be rude to people

Oh, and the school has a short driveway before you get onto the proper school grounds, so people always have to walk a little bit.

This is tricky as we have the same issues at our school for several years. School puts reminders in the weekly newsletter to not park in certain places, but many parents continue to do so. Kids have been knocked off bikes and bumped into by parents reversing and doing 3-point turns. Parents, teachers and the head teacher have personally told drivers not to park on double yellow lines etc but they are met with abuse or an excuse of "I can park where I like". We've got a school streets programme starting early 2024 and I've volunteered to man it. Behaviour change is always the hardest but we'll hopefully see some long term changes.