To think that if you object to parents collecting their children from school...

[EvilTwins]

...you shouldn't buy a house near one?

My DCs attend a large and popular primary school, built in the 1950s, which is at the end of a cul-de-sac in the middle of a large, privately owned, mostly 1950s and 1960s housing estate. The school has asked parents not to park on the actual cul-de-sac when they're picking up their DCs, and this is adhered to. However, it means that parents park their cars in neighbouring residential streets. Obviously everyone arrives at pretty much the same time, so there is a 20 minute period, twice a day, when the three or four streets surrounding the school are full of parked cars. About twice a term, we get letters home telling parents that local residents have complained about this. We're never offered a solution.

This only really affects me on a Friday, as my DCs go to after school club Monday-Thursday, but even considering that, I'm starting to get fed up with the letters home telling us off.

So AIBU? The school must pre-date the majority of the residents. If you choose to buy a house within spitting distance of an enormous primary school, shouldn't you just accept that parents might need to park in your road to drop their children off?

yabu
you only have to look at how parents park near to schools to see the hassle they cause.

I have worked in factories where people move in next door and then complain about the noise and the lorries. "If you can't stand the heat don't buy a house in the kitchen" is what I say.

OP i agree. when buying a house near a school that would be one of my first thoughts. where are you supposed to park?

IME, it's not the parking-just-to-collect parents that cause the problems, it's the lurkers, the ones who think their little darlings can't walk for 10 minutes to the car, so they must get a space really close to the school, meaning they arrive sometimes up to an hour before hometime.

How close to the school do you park and how long do you stay? Are there any actual carparks within walking distance? Need to know those things before juding if you are unreasonable or not!

juding judging, sorry!

yanbu - similar problem at my DSs school

I bought a house behind a school, and accepted that twice a day for 10 mins it was a pain in the arse!

As said above, its like buying a house near Heathrow and complaining about the planes!

In theory YANBU BUT as 2Shoes has pointed out, parents park like lunatics.

I dont know what gets into normal people when they do the school run. Anything goes, parking on zigzags, pavements, disabled spaces, sitting in cars revving engines for 20 mins, fighting, parking on dropped kerbs etc.

Because everyone is 'only going to be there for a minute'

The main through road in my area is a nightmare in the mornings. You cant get down the road because cars are parked on both sides, its stops the buses getting through! Thing is, its not an outstanding school, no one travels for miles to take their kids there, its very local. Where the hell do all the cars come from?

Maybe they expect you to walk

No carparks near the school. Not even a row of shops with convenient spaces - it's bang in the middle of an estate. I suspect the two were built at the same time. I only pick up direct from school on a Friday. I have 2 DCs, both in reception. I tend to park two streets away and literally grab them and walk straight back to the car. I walk past countless parked cars on my way, but I do think, in this case, most parents follow the rules - no one seems to park across driveways or block access.

I accept that a great many parents do the lurking thing, and the staying around to chat thing. I've never been into the whole playground chat thing. Perhaps that's why I resent the telling-off letters. Maybe I should send one back to the Headmaster saying "but it's not me Sir!"

I do. It's a bit annoying as the school's oversubscribed so in theory parents/kids only live half mile or under from school . Plus school does those walking/bike thingies but people do still drive. But it's annoying for a short time only. HOWEVER when bought hse we had no DC's, no plans for DC's & although knew school was there didn't realise about traffic. That being said, letters to parents = pointless

YANBU - we have the same. School similar age, but on a road, not in a cul de sac. No car parks nearby. Majority of the houses immediately close to the school are about 20 years younger than the school, so the owners knew the score when they bought.

20 mins, twice a day there will be cars parked. Accept it, get over it, don't buy a house near a school if that bothers you (you in general, not directed at posters!!)

The school also gets complaints from a man whose garden backs on to the field. The children are too noisy at playtime

Pinkie - too far to walk. We don't have a single school withing walking distance.

It would depend on the parking.

If it was, as it is round here, seriously inconsiderate (blocked drives, residents cars scraped regularly, parking on junctions, and agressive driving- yes really!) then they are NBU at all.

It's not necessarily the school run that's the problem. Just the parents who leave their brains and manners behind.

How far away from the school do you live? And where is the nearest non-residential street (ie where parent parking would not be a proble)? Sorry to pepper you with questions, but I've been on both sides of this and it's a minefield!

you should expect some inconvenience but many of those parking it my Dcs school are just awful. They park full on the pavement so that no one can get by or block in residents by parking across their drive. The police are doing the rounds at the moment and I hope some folk get booked (not me of course)!

I think there are many parents who could actually walk to school to collect their children rather than drive. I am NOT including parents who are rushing from work to collect them or parents who are driving off somewhere AFTER they collect their children OR parents who live a long distance from the school. I walk 45mins to drop off DD at school just so I don't have to go through the whole hassle of trying to find a parking space hassle. The list is not exhaustive above.

There again, I live in a mixed use area and have to endure people who work in buildings close to us parking right outside my house for upto 12hrs a day. Every building has parking allocated to them so why park outside the houses? What about our visitors who will be visiting for a few hours or even just trying to get in and out of our own drive?

It has gotten so extreme in our area that some residents have had signs made up and posted them to the lamp posts saying if you work in the business parks please park in your allocated parking and stop blocking our drives.

Lots of different views I guess.

Hmmm. I see your POV but sadly the mad 10 mins often coincides with residents having to leave to go to work. DS2's school is in an area of Victorian terraces and parking is a total mare. I will always park a few streets off and walk in but there are some selfish idiots who can't walk more than a few feet with their kids and park in front of drives and even double park.

In the end the school came to an arrangment with the local supermarket - parents can park there morning and afternoon for a short time. It means a 5min walk but it's better than nothing or getting a ticket! But beleive it or not people still carry on behaving like muppets.

Is it possible you could do something like this? Or walk?

At least they're within catchment, if its a good school I guess.

I've always wondered about this - I dont yet have school aged children so no axe to grind but I honestly wonder what it is they expect parents to do?

Obviously, the most practical solution is for them to walk their children to school. But so many parents work, and are already cutting it fine to get there on time dropping them off at the earliest time by car and driving straight on to work.

Park further away from the school - then those residents would get pissed off.

Get smaller cars - so you can't fit all the car seats and boosters and shyte in there, or have to run a 2nd car you otherwise wouldn't for long journeys to have enough luggage space.

I dont know - sometimes I think parents are just lepers.

When I was little, I walked to school and back with my mum... sigh

I live just over 2 miles from school, so not at all walkable with two 4yo. I am trying to think where the closest non-residential street is and actually can't... I think it's the busy by-pass which skirts the estate - not allowed to park on that road though.

Each year more and more children are being driven to school. When the residents decided to live near the school, many of them probably did not think it would be a problem because it wasn't.

That has changed and it is not unreasonable to ask those dropping their DCs off in cars to respect the residents in the locality. I have seen streets around schools so blocked with cars that an ambulance or fire engine would have no hope of negotiating passage. OP you say that you are never offered a solution, perhaps you should approach the school to see what can be done and how.

Need to know more details. If it is a special school, or some other reason why it is far away and you need to drive, then fair enough.

Otherwise, send your kids to a school in walking distance, then WALK to school. Revolutionary idea, I know.

When the people bought their houses in the 60s (or even as recently as the 90s IME) there wasn't this ridiculous idea that driving to school was somehow normal.

There are so many primary schools in the average town that it should be rare that a child can't walk there. Then high schools have buses, so that problem is solved.

I'm in favour of making all schools a no parking zone for a one mile radius, apart from residents and people with a special need. I'd also come down like a ton of bricks on anyone parking stupidly, even if (and somehow people seem to think this matters) they have their hazards on. Why is your comfort more important than the school children's safety?