Man keeps putting traffic cones on road outside school

[lottieandmia]

There is a road outside my dd's school where parents have to park to do the school run. A man who lives opposite this road has started putting cones up on the raised curb opposite his house to stop people parking. These cones take up about 5 parking spaces. The situation with traffic and parking before this happened was chaos anyway and now it is even worse.

Are there any legitimate reasons why he would be allowed to do this? It seems to me he doesn't have the right to stop people parking and this has now been going on for about 3 months.

[lottieandmia]

lurcherlover - I myself live in an area where it is difficult to park and some people have applied for resident parking but the council won't agree. Where we live people park so that they can get to work easily - which they are perfectly entitled to do and we don't act silly and put cones up.

[TheRealFellatio]

But Freudian he and others do not have a god-given entitlement to park outside their house! I understand that it is annoying, but it is what it is - if they don't like it they should buy a house with a driveway, or in a quieter area!

Why should drivers who have paid their road tax be forced to walk from 'two minutes' away? That will be in front of someone else's house, who will also no doubt think they are entitled to get shirty about it! So what's to be gained? My kids used to go to a school in a very built up residential area, and there was nowhere else to park for such a stupidly long distance that we all felt that we had no choice but to park near to school. And even if we had gone to the other place, there were not sufficient spaces there for all of the us who needed it, so people would still have been forced to crowd out one or two small streets - they were just different streets, further away! So might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

People just have to accept that if they live on a public road with parking (especially if it is very near to a some popular amenity) then people will need and want to park there at certain times, and be perfectly entitled to do so. If they don't like it let them move. So long as no laws a broken and no-one is blocked in I have no sympathy.

[DeepRedBetty]

Does he by any chance drive a tank sized car with the turning circle of the average ocean liner? or is that just the school run mummies who routinely block up our area at pick up time

[TwoTearsInABucket]

So, he is putting the cones on the opposite side of his house? Is it because he has to back out of his drive and can't if there are cars parked there?

Not that it matters and has anything to do with whether he should be or not, just interested

[lottieandmia]

If people resent congestion outside their house at school pick up time then perhaps they should have taken that into consideration when they decided to live outside a school.

[PeaceandFUCKINGLove]

Walk to school

[PeterParkerSays]

Get out of car, put one cone in back of car whilst unloading children. Drive it away. Repeat until he has very few, ineffective cones left.

Franky I'd be amazed if the cones were actually his, as in he bought them rather than acquired them from a coned off area elsewhere.

[TheRealFellatio]

If it's opposite his house perhaps he struggles to get in and out of his driveway when people are parked opposite. But he should take that up with the council - I agree many roads are way too narrow. But that is not the parents' fault and while there are no restrictions in place they are entitled to park where they like so long as it is legal.

[Longtallsally]

He's not allowed to do this, but I have some sympathy with him. He is putting the cones opposite his house - he may have a long drive but to get in and out of it, you need a certain amount of space to swing in or out. The folks who live opposite my dss school are often blocked into our out of their houses as drivers parking legally, but right up to the edge of their dropped curbs don't leave enough space for them to get in and out. It is an awful place to live and you need either the patience of a saint to live there, or a lift which can be organised around school hours so that you never need to come and go at that time.

Have a word with the school, or council, but be prepared to give him a sympathetic smile too. He's probably been driven to the end of his tether.

[hamilton75]

The local council is more than likely the highway authority in this case so you should contact the highways dept. They have the power to prosecute under the Highways Act so I would always contact them in the first instance rather than the police.

I'd love to see his face when he gets the warning (how sad am I?) but in my experience you have to play hard ball with these silly buggers who think they own the road.

[burberryqueen]

absolutely agree lottieandmia, although the car situation outside my children's junior school was insane, totally, so you can see where he is coming from. He is however in the wrong.

[lottieandmia]

I don't know TwoTears - but there is certainly enough room to get out of his drive.

[FreudiansSlipper]

why are people so lazy now

so what you have a car pay road tax does that stop you walking, does that stop you being a little considerate for others

like i said if there are reasons you need to park right ouside the school fair enough but lets be honest for most parents it is down to be lazy

[Lazyjaney]

Judging by the number of people on MN complaining of inconsiderate parking by school run parents I suspect he has just had enough of being parked in etc etc.

[lottieandmia]

I get that he may find it annoying - I find the parking situation where I live annoying but that doesn't actually give me the right to obstruct the road.

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

Why don't you just stop next to the cones, move a couple out of the way and park there?

Get all the parents doing it.

It's not forbidden to move a cone

[UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea]

So if, for whatever reason enters my head, I don't like people parking outside my house I should just put cones on the road? WTAF.

Don't know why you are getting a hard time OP. To answer your question, he has no right. Just move the cones into your boot to stop him doing it again .

A local guy did this recently, he lived near a beach and if cars parked outside his house he lost his view of the sea, so he stuck a load of cones up to make it look like contractors were working there. It lasted about a day and the PCSO had strong words with him.

[ArbitraryUsername]

I have every sympathy for people who have to put up with school parkers blocking their driveways (or even parking in them) and generally parking abysmally.

But you do have to accept that there will be school run traffic if you live near a school, and just live with it. It's a bit like complaining about train noise when your house backs on to the tracks. You don't get to accumulate some cones and use them to stop people parking in perfectly reasonable places. Doing so will probably only encourage the kind of really crappy parking school run parking threads are usually about.

The only thing I can think of to explain it is: do the cars parked opposite make it difficult/impossible for him to get out of his drive? Although, in that case, I'd probably consider widening my drive to make it wider. But I can see how that could be incredibly frustrating.

[TweedWasSoLastYear]

just drive gently into the cones and shove them all out of the way.
this man is not allowed by law to block the carriageway for his own benefit. I am going to guess he is abit 'Victor Meldrew' and either wants a huge turning circle or no noisey kids outside his house

[flowery]

Bung your hazards on, move the cones, park.

If he has a big drive and can get in and out ok it sounds like he's just being petty for the sake of it. As long as you are parking legally, not obstructing anything etc, he has nothing to complain about.

[TheRealFellatio]

Freudian you assume that eveyone lives a walkable distance or has the luxury or a decent bus service - they don't. I agree that some people are lazy, but laziness is only one of many possible reasons why someone may choose to park close to school, or indeed anywhere else they need to visit.

And on earth why should I 'consider' others? I'll consider them by not parking illegally, and by not using private parking areas, and by not blocking people in - fine. But why should I be 'considerate' by leaving a perfectly good parking space that I am just as entitled to use as any other driver free, just in case someone else living near it might consider their needs and whims more important than mine?

[UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea]

Oh yes, and let's blame the OP for every inconsiderate, lazy school run driver in the country.

[melika]

The man has probably a lot of time on his hands to do this but if some of the parents are being inconsiderate, you can't blame him for taking action.


A friend of mine who lives opposite a primary school had someone park on his drive while one of the parents nipped off to collect their precious one. When challenged with, 'What the hell do you think you are doing parking on my drive'! The reply was, he will only be a minute!!!

There are some ridiculous things that happen outside schools.

[FreudiansSlipper]

but why is it so annoying for you

is it causing danger or an inconvenience

i am guessing that if he has been doing this for a few months school is aware but have chosen not to bother to do anything as they do not really see it as a problem