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?

YANBU. If people didn't all park around the houses nearest the school they'd have to park two, or three or four streets back instead. And then all those people would complain. May as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

Its not just the "acceptable distance to walk issue" though, its how long it takes to do that and whether or not it allows enough time for you to meet your other obligations.

I hate the way parents are lumped into the "lazy" category for using their cars because they have to go to work - only to be lumped in the "lazy" category if they have school aged children but no job.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont.

Not defending illegal driving or bad parking, for clarity, once again.

I live next door to an infant school. As in, right next door - my drive runs off the school drive!

I have absolutely no problem with people parking in the road, it's long and wide enough for people to park easily, and there are a few side roads also with plenty of parking.

What pisses me off are the people that park inconsiderately - across drives, up on the pavement of the school drive (which not only narrows it so that emergency vehicles wouldn't be able to get through but means children have to walk in the driveway) and on the zigzags.

Yes I bought a house next to a school so totally accept that there will be traffic and busy-ness twice a day. But that doesn't mean I have to accept lazy buggers parking across my drive because they are too idle to walk 25 yards up the road.

(Luckily 99.9% of parents park considerately and many walk to school so it's not a big issue for us).

ok, i live near a primary school (6 houses away) but my DC don't go there. at 3.20pm i often can't get out of my driveway to pick up MY DC. fine to park near but be considerate.

when DS was at primary school we lived really close to it BUT in order to get to and from work on time and to and from the school on time i had to drive. there was not enough time to walk to sch and back in the mornings and get to work on time; i ended up being on warnings at work and on warnings from the school if i left DS there too early as it was! also when i left work i had minutes to get to the school, there simply was not enought time to drop the car home and walk to collect him.
couldn't win!

My pet peeve.

Discounting disabilities and CMs, some of our local parents are just lazy, inconsiderate morons - morons because they mount the pavement to park so if you are in a wheelchair or have a pram you have to go into the busy road.

What do you reckon to getting <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm58/crzyctr/2006%2520Dodge/MojaveSale007.jpg&imgrefurl=www.cumminsforum.com/forum/c-c-drw/27681-lets-see-your-dodge-dually-19-5-22-5-wheels-16.html&usg=__LOU5oP-Xcfq9D8FP7v9BVmHfiPY=&h=683&w=1024&sz=199&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=f-FJ7q8JQ0LbRM:&tbnh=152&tbnw=201&prev=/images%3Fq%3D007%2Bwheel%2Bspikes%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26rlz%3D1T4SNYK_enGB337GB337%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D576%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=130&vpy=314&dur=153&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=163&ty=184&ei=BxrbTLC5M8LJhAfitcXcAg&oei=BxrbTLC5M8LJhAfitcXcAg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">these fitted to the pram?

I agree Tatty. I drive my DCs ten miles to school. The nearest free, legal, non-restricted parking is a good ten minute walk away, which is not what you need when you've already sat in traffic for half an hour. And the roads closish to school all have the same parking restrictions as the ones right on top of school. So if I'm going to get a ticket I may as well get a ticket for being on the doorstep.

I meant close-ish

The school may pre-date the residents, but driving to school is a fairly new phenomena.

Park legally and I don't see the problem.

I think the busy traffic and the bad parking are, to an extent, two separate issues.

Sure if they didn't drive there the bad parking would go.

But if they can tackle the bad parking and any illegal acts, that ought to do, really. Busy traffic at certain times of day is part of urban/suburban life and as long as nobody is breaking the law, you kind of just have to suck it up.

I realise its not that simple and that its the congestion that causes people to park badly, etc, so its a bit chicken and egg.

YANBU. Our local school have the problem of parents parking up on the pavement at collection time. A few mums have complained about not being able to get their SINGLE buggies/prams past the cars.

Best thing is there's an empty car park just across the road.

I do think the school should DO something rather than send out letters which get ignored.

Taking a further step back, perhaps they could invite some of the local complainants to meet with the PTA/Friends of the School to thrash out some ideas?

What about encouraging more sharing of lifts to reduce the number of cars? Walking bus from nearest car park? Lobbying council for a school bus? Collaring new parents and talking to them about their transport needs? Staggering start times? Surveying KS2 parents to find out why they still drive their children to school?

maktaitai - good idea. I think we get the letters because the school does invite the residents in though - the latest one said something along the lines of "On Tuesday the PTA met with local residents, and the main topic of conversation was, as usual, parking issues...." I guess the school does this so that the residents feel they're being listend to, but then don't follow through other than to send the letters home.

Why should the school do anything if the parents are parking legally?

It's the abusive language from some parents that gets me - and the selfishness. Constantly have our dropped kerb blocked for 20 mins in the morning and 30-40 in the afternoon. we have a family car with boosters and car seats in on the drive. If anything is said by DH when he gets in the car he is told to *. he drives to work - I walk the kids to a different school!

To give it a different perspective, don't choose a school in a cul-de-sac if you intend to drive and there is nowhere suitable to park. I dislike the sense of entitlement some parents have to inconvenience other people because can't or wont walk or cycle.

I agree mak. Just haranguing parents for driving without acknowledging the reasons why many need to drive, and helping them find practical solutions is unfair. I notice no-one moans at the teachers for driving in!

I love the way 'waiting' has turned into 'lurking'...

If the parents are parking legally, then it's hard luck really if you don't like it.

Not everyone is close enough to walk.
Many parents have to go straight to work/are on the way home from work.

That is now the way our lives are - no use to harking back to when we all walked to school.

Sorry, can't remember the posters name, but it's not really possible to leave the kids waiting at the school gate around here as they don't let them out of the class without a parent present until they go up to the Junior School.

Our school is 127 years old, and has been in th same place for all 127 years, but the neighbours still complain about the noise the childrn make in the playground!

Fair enough Teddy, assuming they got their first choice of school...

I honestly think, unless there are extenuating circumstances, there is no reason for a child of school age to not walk for around 20 minutes, either to get home, or get to the car. If most parents who were able to do this stuck to it, there would be less congestion around the school and the burden of the parking would be shared out between more streets.

I don't think there is any perfect solution to a problem like this, but respect from both sides as a start would help.

Chipping, I believe I used the word lurking, which IMO is accurate, if the parent is there for up to an hour before pick up time. And yes, this really does happen at my local primary.

I think it depends on the quality of parking and the manners of the parents. I used to live next to a school and the parents could be quite abusive to us.

They used to park in our driveways and not just across them. My neighbour had to go out, unfortunately it was about 15min before school coming out time. Someone was parked in the front part of their drive and they politely asked if they could move their car to let them out. The reply was that they would move when they were bloody ready and if my neighbour wanted to make an issue of it they would see to it that they would never be able to drive anything again as they were a martial arts expert. This was in front of my neighbour's 2 year old child who was by this time hysterical. When I was on mat leave I was too scared to go out either side of school run time.

Teddybare ha ha ha ha ha.

Do you have school age children? How much choice do you think parents actually get in the school their children go to?!

I would love my children to go to either of the three schools within walking distance of my home. Unfortunately they are massively oversubscribed due to their excellent ofsted reports which means I have to drive my children to an infant school on the other side of town.

Legally parked cars which cause a bit of congestion for twenty mins a day are hardly an inconvenience.