to ask for success stories of stopping inconsiderate parking by schools?

[bikegrrl]

Have namechanged to prevent outing in RL as I have agreed to look at this.

My DCs' school is plagued with people parking inconsiderately, and would rather people did not park near the school at all (narrow cul-de-sac, narrow pavements, creates conflict, discourages walking/ cycling, blah de blah).

General driving/ parking behaviour improves vastly when the police/ traffic wardens are out and about. But that's once in a blue moon. When the police aren't there, some drivers park happily on double-yellows. It doesn't need to be a lot of people to make it a problem.

Has anyone's school solved the problem of too many cars near the school? Anyone's school solved it by [whisper it!] providing a dedicated drop-off point for kids who come to school by car which doesn't bring cars into conflict with people arriving on foot? Anyone's school have no problem with cars? What makes it work?

And any European mums have anything to teach us about how they do things elsewhere?

I am not criticising people for driving their kids to school. I am looking for solutions [hopeful emoticon] to the ghastly gridlock and frayed tempers I see daily.

Hi. We feel your pain and have set up a website to shame these selfish parkers. You can too on www.selfishparker.com

ZOMBIE

My DH used to teach in Dubai where this was a huge problem. Everyone drove massive 4x4s, usually with over-tinted windows. Once their kids were dropped off they would pull out without checking for other kids crossing the car park, people mounting the pavements was common too.

Eventually they needed to have several senior staff members on duty to help support the security staff police the situation. Even then some of the behaviour was disgraceful, I witnessed my DH and colleagues being revved at and driven towards aggressively when he asked people to wait in a queue or let other children use the zebra crossing.

The small parent car park that some used had a rule where you were only allowed to reverse into a space because there had been so many near misses when children were nearly run over. People can be truly shocking when they get behind the wheel.

Bollocks! Stupid zombie!

Very similar situation at our little ones school, the PTA have been tasked with highlighting the parking issue with parents.

One of our members who works in a local office complex brought a sign along they use to manage parking on there site No Parking Sign .

while it was not suitable for the school entrance it did get us looking and eventual went for one of these banners

www.schoolsigns-uk.co.uk/school-no-parking-banners.html

and seams to be having an effect, there is also talk about having an increased parking enforcement presence

I drove through a road with a nursery and was amazed to see loads of parents sitting in cars in front of cars. No wonder some people put bins in front of their drive... I was incensed for them