Parking at new house

[catlady1234]

Hi,

We are in the process of buying a new house.
The house is opposite a primary school. I have some concerns about the parking,

The road has access time restrictions during pick up and drop off times (with signs & cameras) How can I check if they are being enforced? Iv noticed lots of cars driving down the road during the restricted times.

Also the house has a drive and dropped curb. Most of the neighbours don't have drives. When passing iv noticed people parking completely across the drive. How can I find out if this is a big problem? Can I find out if current resident has had to make a lot of official complaints (calls to council etc)

I'm worried it's going to cause of a lot of problems.

Thanks

I stay near a school & tbh I don't get stressed about the parking.
Yes it's a nightmare at pick up times but it's only half an hour twice a day.
I'm not often coming or going at drop off times and if I do get caught in it i know that by about 5 past 3 they'll be gone.

I love my house & the parking certainly wasn't worth pulling out the sale

I agree with this tbh.

I try to be as considerate as possible when doing drop off and pick up, sometimes that means parking pretty far away.

But every day I see massive 4x4s blocking the road, double parking, blocking drives etc and the drivers feel justified because “they’ll only be a minute.”

I get that it must be insanely frustrating for the residents, but at the same time it’s human nature that there will be selfish fuckers about. I sympathise with them, but at the same time in our situation the school has been at that site for over 100 years, the parking issues have didn’t pop up overnight.

Unless I drive down myself and see if I get a fine?

Park somewhere else and walk down road either before 9 am or school start time or around kick out time and actually see what parents are doing - ideally more than once in case it's an unusual day - clubs spreading out traffic day.

Same.

It will be an issue no matter what restrictions are in place

It sounds as though you’re trying to persuade yourself it will be OK, OP, when most posters are urging caution at the very least. Maybe the inconvenience is a reason for the house being less expensive in the area.

Teachers will park in the school car park. Visitors to the school will have to park somewhere and they may be part of the problem too.

I’d suggest what others have - go there at drop off, or pick up and judge for yourself what it’s like. Ring the council, probably highways and ask if there’s any enforcement of the restrictions and whether there are prosecutions.

My sons school had a fire station near it and people would even block the roller door for the fire engines regularly 🙄

If it was 10am when you saw the car parked across the kerb then that would be too late for it to be school run traffic and could just as easily be the current owner or a visitor of theirs.
But living by a school will always bring with it parking and traffic issues. The only real way to see what it's like is to visit at peak school drop off/pick up times and see how many cars actually drive down and park in despite the signs.

Get a very big very old Volvo estate and a sign that says parking over the driveway will result in my car moving your car out of the way.

Look of panic when I said this to someone who had stopped their car on a single carriageway one way road to go into the shop rather than look for a parking space was a picture

I had gone into the shop and shouted for the person who had just abandoned their car in the road that it needed moving or I would move it for them.
She took one look at my old tank of a car and her shiny new one and ran outside to move it.

I got a thank you from the other drivers who she had blocked whilst she did her shopping.

Same.

It doesn't have to be. At a school in this area parents photograph illegal parkers and send the photos to the police. A fine follows.

It's made quite a difference.

I am surprised by others saying restrictions unlikely to be enforced. Skins like a "school streets" road with cameras monitoring entry with anpr, these seem to be enforced locally as they are easy to do so and earn money. I would have thought more of an issue if you wanted visitors or tradesmen at those times are they would be ticketed

I agree with others that 1. it will be carnage twice a day regardless of any signs and restrictions and 2. that you should loiter there over two or three days to get a sense of just how carnagy it is.

It's not just school pick up and drop off when it could be busy. Our local primary has after school clubs and external clubs hiring the halls well into the evening with parents picking up/ dropping off every 45mins. Plus the halls are hired out all morning on a Saturday and Sunday. Drivers park all the way down the road on both sides making it a single lane, and there are regularly massive arguments where 2 people have driven along in different directions, can't get past each other then refuse to move. The police were even called once because it was so bad.
And don't get me started on the car fumes and people sitting for ages with their engines running .

It will be busy with cars and pedestrians at drop off and pick up times during term time. If this will be a problem for you find somewhere else to live.

If it’s a good school, living in the catchment for it will long term add more value to the house, as families will want to be in that area🤷‍♀️ You’d have off-street parking in a London residential area, also a major bonus. These two factors outweigh any hassle you have if a random might one day park across your drive for 5 minutes whilst they take a small child to school, but generally they’d be parked (illegally, so their risk not yours to worry about) in the street zone, but not causing you any problems. Prioritise what’s great about the property and why you want the house in the first place- is being in a school drop off zone an issue that can’t be overlooked for a great house?

Living near a school is one of the main reasons we moved.

The council did their best to police it but it was hopeless and we go sick of not being able to drive and park down our road twice a day.

The only blessing was it was quiet during the school holidays!

It could depend on your schedule. We have a primary school on the main road near the entrance to our close. Most of the time it doesn't bother me as I'm either at work or in my house where I don't notice any disruption. If I have to drive anywhere at 8.30am or 3.30pm it's a nightmare getting out onto the main road due to parents parking all over cycle lanes. I just have to remember to try not to leave the house at these times.

We're house hunting at the moment and schools are a massive no-no for us. It's just fucking parking carnage.

As for auto fines - you could ask on the local FB group if anyone's had a fine recently... or drive down yourself. School newsletters if they're on the website might give you some ideas about how things are as well - but yeah - there is no way on this planet I'd buy near a school.

I would think long and hard about buying this house. If it’s stressing you now imagine if you were living there.

The street around the corner from us where the school is is horrendous!
People give no shits and pull up anywhere they can, cars at all angles.

Granted it's not for long but it would piss me off watching from my window 😂

Would be a big no from me.

My son’s school is a nightmare for parking and generally picking / dropping off. If you throw in bin day, or one of the neighbouring houses as a delivery or building works going on it takes it to the next level of stress.

I’d never buy near a primary school. Most of those saying it will only be for a couple of minutes are likely to be the fuckers people blocking your drive.

We lived 100 yards away from a primary school for 18 years (up a small cul de sac)- most of the parents were good, and parked away from the road, but a handful were total arseholes and regularly blocked the road, parked up kerbs, on grass verges, etc etc.

Actually I dont see it as useless. I have friends who live near a school and ten years ago it was manageable, but in the last few years it has got markedly worse to the point that they are trying (and struggling) to sell. Personally I wouldnt buy a house where the parking situation is bad and only likely to get worse , therefore potentially rendering it unsellable.

Its bothering you already and you dont live there yet. An annoyance on that level will only grow, not worth the stress imo.