School parking - Ha!

[wasonthelist]

I do drive to take DD to school. This is because I am NRP and she (and her Mum) live 17 miles away with no practical public transport. I drop her off at breakfast club (and collect from after school) so am not subject the full horror of normal start and end times.

AIBU in thinking that the many parents who are so fucking lazy that they park on the pavement opposite the yellow zig zag school markings aren't really observing the spirit of them, even though they may not strictly be doing anything illegal?

They certainly make visibility tricky for me and the other parents who bother to park properly.

How come we never get anyone who does this sort of stuff commenting on here?

[JsOtherHalf]

Ds's school is at the end of a dead end street. You have to do a 3 point turn to get back on the main road. The headteacher is usually at the gates trying to prevent parents parking in the tiny school carpark unless they have a blue badge.

Trying to get into or out of that street is awful. People park both side of the street, leaving one car width between them.

We aren't allowed to kiss n run. I feel DS would be perfectly safe getting himself from the main road ( where we park) to the school. However, even at 9 I am supposed to watch him go into his class entrance before leaving.

One day a week I see him through the school gates, kiss him, then leave in a rush for work. HT turns a blind eye.

[MummyBex1985]

This topic always makes me laugh!

I drive ten miles from work to pick up my DD from school and then a further 8 mile journey home, so I have no choice but to drive.

I park a few streets down and my DD walks down to meet me (she's 11). Sometimes I walk up if I'm there in time.

What makes me laugh is that there are three parents on the road where I park who actually get in their cars and fight for a space up by the school - it's a five minute walk ffs!!!

[lilypotter]

Part of our school's staff car park is U-shaped. Recently, a parent parked right in the middle of the U, blocking in 6 cars, while she sauntered down to collect her son from football practice. I had to wait 10 minutes for her to return, at which point she trilled, "Oh sorry darlin', am I blocking you in?"

WFT???? Are you BLIND? How could you not notice when you chose to park right in the middle of the fucking car park that you were blocking in 6 people? I complained to the HT, who phoned her the next day and told her off.

Ditto, the grandparent who let her grandchildren run across the (fenced-off from pedestrians) car park, and dance behind my car as I reversed out of my space.

[TheSultanofPingu]

Haha, I hadn't thought about that Andrew

[Andrewofgg]

SultanofPingu If it involves boiling oil it might work. But think of the parking issues at the executions

[TheSultanofPingu]

It will never change, unfortunately.
At every school there will be a small number of parents who are both stupid and incredibly selfish. They will continue to park wherever they please, without either knowing or caring that they are putting other children in danger.

The only thing that would perhaps deter them is introducing the death penalty for this offence (although I realise this is rather extreme)

[SuburbanRhonda]

I'm not sure parents should volunteer to patrol the school car park.

At my last school our caretaker asked a parent to move out of the staff car park and he got punched in the face

[hazeyjane]

We have had parking wardens, policd, parents and the lollipop man patrolling the residential street ds's school is on. It has gone in the newsletter, individual letters have been posted on cars.

The local supermarket carpark (next to the school) issues permits so parents can park there between 8.45 and 9.15 for drop offs

Still we get parking on the pavement (meaning people with buggies and wheeles have to walk out into the road) on double yellows, blocking drives and obstructing the entrance to school.

Unfortunately it means planning permission for a desperately needed new school build has been blocked at local council stage because of parking issues.

It makes my blood boil

[Sirzy]

Outside our school is just down right dangerous at times with the awful parking. I was nearly ran over a few days back because I couldn't make myself disappear off the pavement to allow a car park there

What really gets me is people who live very close (I am talking less than a 2 minute walk close) who drive, making the parking even harder for those who need to drive.

On the rare occasions I need to drive Ds to school (when he is too ill to manage the walk) I still park a couple of minutes walk away just to avoid the chaos!

[Squiff85]

Bit off topic but at the doctors the other day people were parking in the road, blocking traffic etc when there was a perfectly good car park for the dr's about 10 steps away! madness!

[BrandNewAndImproved]

Delta that's why the head at our school had the police out sorting it. However once they go it goes straight back to normal.

[DeltaSunrise]

Lucy no because then the parents just pull up alongside the bus and block him in (and the road). They refuse to move until their precious darlings come out of school faff around with getting stuff in the car and get themselves in. As one parent pulls away, another just pulls up. Makes the bus driver late to pick up from the other school for the after school club.

[LucyBabs]

Can the school bus not arrive 30 minutes early and then wait for school to finish at normal time and so kids don't need to miss any school time? Or am I missing something

[JolieColombe]

Near DD's nursery is a t-junction with traffic lights at each arm of the 'T'. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that not one but two works vans were parked on the double yellows in between the two sets of lights on the main road (top bar of the T if that makes any sense). So, in the middle of the junction! The livery of a national firm was splashed all over them as well.

[Tiredmumno1]

just gobsmacked at how anyone can behave like that Delta, it is awful behaviour.

[DeltaSunrise]

Tired yes, one parent moved the first cone leaving enough room to get into the bus bay and then removed the last come to get out again so all the parents just sort of drove around the cones.

He had a PCSO out there every day for a week telling parents to move on and even then the parents were arguing with him. "We're only going to be a second" "it's too far for X to walk" and one parent who said "seriously haven't you got anything better to do than stop parents picking up their kids"

They (parents) just don't care.

[amarmai]

posting photos of these 'special' people seems to work.

[Tiredmumno1]

Delta has the HT tried putting cones there until the bus turns up?

[DeltaSunrise]

Right outside our school there is a bus bay. This is for the bus that picks up all the kids going to after school club (off site).

Despite numerous letters, emails, texts and notices from the HT asking parents not to park there, every day parents park up in the bus bay refusing to let the bus in. It's a narrow road anyway so the bus would have to sit on the road blocking it in both directions and the kids would have to negotiate the cars pulling in and out of the bus bay before getting on the bus.

Not only is it inconsiderate, it's bloody dangerous for the bus kids.

The HT has resigned himself to the fact that these parents aren't going to move no matter what he does so he and the after school club have arranged for the bus to come 30 minutes before the bell goes to pick up the kids and leave before parents start rolling in.

All these kids are missing over 2 hours of school a week just because some idiot parents don't give a shit about anyone but themselves.

[Arkwright]

Our primary school is awful. We don't have zig zags but do have double yellow lines. The cars park all along the double yellow lines. We have had numerous lollipop men because they all leave because of the abuse they get. Parents drive at him and park where he us trying to cross the children over. They don't seem to see he is there for the children's safety. They park on the corners of roads so you can't see to pull out safely. Only 11 weeks left for me as my Dd is in Year 6.

[SpookyRachel]

Some of these parents must be reading MN - I so wish one of them would NC and come on to defend themselves! Though they probably don't identify with the problem - they'll be thinking that other people are selfish parkers but they are different because x, y, z.

[HypodeemicNerdle]

I got so pissed off with our zigzag parking parent this morning that I sent the photos from Monday and today to our local 101 email (I googled it). I've had a very nice email chat today with a policeman and action is going to be taken against this entitled twat, which is nice!

[BrandNewAndImproved]

My dcs school is awful. We have even had the police put up cones for a few weeks and be there at drop off and pick up to stop people parking on the corners and next to the crossing.

Its a vicious circle as the amount of cars around and parking makes it dangerous for the dc to walk to school by themselves but then I'm being part of the problem driving and parking (not badly as I either get there early or 5 minutes late)

[Andrewofgg]

Oh yes, bring it on, a team of dedicated (and merciless) parent parking wardens at every school. Not equipped with tickets. Equipped with electric cattle prods.