Pavement hoggers on school run

[ZenMum82]

Any advice please on how to cope with a group of (mostly) mums who regularly block the pavement on the school run? They always stand and chat after they've dropped off (often with dogs) forcing other parents with children onto the road, which is busy with cars, cyclists etc. The ring leader has a prominent position in the community, other mums seem scared to acknowledge her behaviour. This behaviour only started during lockdown, and has continued since.

Loud voice, polite and don’t back down.

‘Excuse me please, can you move so my children don’t need to walk in the road to get by’. And wait until they move.

Excuse me usually works?

Just say ‘excuse me please’ and barge through. Even better if you are wheeling a buggy.

Or walk in the of the group

I’d email school with safety concerns for the children if it’s close by, they might send something out asking people to be more aware.

just have a word with the school, they will send out a reminder to all parents not to stand in the way of pedestrians.

Yes...

You approach and loudly say,
"Excuse me"

And if they don't move, you repeat it louder.
If they don't move, tap the on the shoulder and say it again..

You might also have a word with the school and get them to put a note in the newsletter etc asking people not to block the pavement outside.

Just say excuse me and walk through the group

I would say excuse me please loudly and barge through the middle of them if they don't move

Loud excuse me. Get your children to say it as well - they shouldn’t have a problem with a child saying it and if they do then they are a bunch of pricks.

Ringleader?! Scared? Why are you walking in the road? They aren’t immovable objects, or psychic.

Just say excuse me. If they don’t move, say this isn’t a great place to stand when it’s so busy, can you find another place. If even after that, they still do it, you say louder and every time that kids are walking in the road and they need to chat somewhere else.

If after you do all those really simple solutions, they still do it, then you might have an actual problem.

People are mostly oblivious about the needs of others unless they are brought to their attention. They're unlikely to be deliberately blocking the road, they're just thoughtless and occupied with their conversation. If you want to be properly forthright about it, you can ask them not to stand their all the time. But otherwise as others have said, just asking to get past when you need to, often enough, should eventually make them clock they're in the way of people going along the pavement.

There is a bunch of parents like this at my child’s school. They’re flummoxed, daily, by the number of people wearily trying to get through the middle of their gaggle to access the school gate. It never seems to dawn on them that standing right in front of the main gate to the school is a daft plan.

This works well for me, in a loud voice: "excuse me please, would you let me past? Thanks!"

No need to involve the school, just a loud 'excuse me, please '.

@Clymene

I would say excuse me please loudly and barge through the middle of them if they don't move

Yes, I would do this too. I refuse to walk in the gutter into the path of cars because other pedestrians are too gormless to leave space on the pavements.