To ignore the school parking diktat?

[Ginmakesitallok]

I drive to drop off andpick kids up from school - too far to walk and on my way to work. Its busy, but i usually get a space in the street beside school.

Theres a note in a recent school newsletter to say that parents shouldn't drive into this street, that there's no parking for parents there and that the yellow lines are for kids safety.

Now - it's a public road, no restricted parking, only yellow lines are at junctions where I'd never park. Surely the school can't think that it can stop parents parking where they want if they are parking legally??

If I was a head teacher and folk were complaining to me I'd tell them that I didn't have the authority to tell people where to park and that if they witness dangerous/illegal parking to contact police/ council. I wouldn't spend hours talking to them about something over which I had no control

You have no grasp of a school's place within a community and no appreciation of how delicate and important a school's local reputation is. Sadly, your approach doesn't work with local residents who won't hesitate to contact the local press AND Ofsted.

Basil

A: we only have OPs word for that. I'm sure all the people who cause issues say they are not the problem. That's the M.O.

B: if there was no problem the school wouldn't have put out a letter.

OP takes a cat to the school, there for is part of the problem and should stop seeing it as a 'right to park' because there are no lines and see the wider issue the school is trying to tackle

Car** not cat!!

I am a parent who drives and park in a street next to the school and I always park with consideration to neighbours and other pupils heading to school, but the other parents who refuse to park slightly further away are awful, parking on the pavements so we cannot walk down the pavement to the crossing patrol and have to venture into the road with lack of visibility, slipping on mud due to the whole Tarmac pavement parked on. And yes they park on yellow lines, also it is a bus route and the bus struggles to get through between the parked cars. I've had to help mums with a pram and toddler to cross the road as she can't get to the crossing lady as pavement parked on and she has to push pram into road without knowing what's coming whilst holding tightly to her toddler, who she should be teaching correct road safety but cannot. I would imagine some neighbours have complained but it may not be directed at you personally maybe it's at someone who has blocked driveways or parked on yellow lines, and as for saying the school was there first and so traffic is the same, no it isn't, my mum has lived by a school for 30 yrs and traffic has increased considerably.

For all you lot that are moaning about being told not to park there i feel sorry for the teachers teaching your kids if they moan and flount rules like there mothers are doing FGS its for kids safety get a life and start using your bloody legs, this is why kids are getting obese because they are driven everywhere, and if someone parked outside my house to drop a kid off i tell you know i would block you so you coudnt bloody drive away

I live on the same street as my DDs primary school. The problem we have is parents who try and park as close as possible creating a huge bottleneck on a narrow residential street. They don't park very responsibly e.g. Right on the corner or the junction, or perform 15 point turns rather than driving straight on around the road which is a crescent. Occasionally they have parked across my drive which was an issue when I was trying to go anywhere. The school have now asked parents to observe a voluntary one way system which quite clearly can't be enforced but is an attempt to resolve some of the problems. In your case perhaps I assume there is a good reason why they have asked for your co-operation. Why would you not try and assist if you could? ( out school has recently increased numbers and now has gone from 2 to a 4 class reception so more cars trying to access the street).

There's been a massive debate where I live about this, residents are asking for controlled or permit parking... it must be really annoying for them not being able to get out of their drives/park at their houses around the school run period.

Been threads before of people who live next to schools and complain about parents parking/across drives etc, a portion of the responses said complain to the school, school seems stuck in the middle.
Not the same I'm sure but my DS swimming class was cancelled because the residence next to the swimming school complained to the council even though all the houses around had drives they got fed up with the extra traffic I thought at the time how impossible people can be.
The street probably get fed up with the school traffic, which they probably should of thought of before buying next to a school however at same time if the school has asked for parents to be conciderate where's the harm in that

I live near a pub and doctors so my road is always full of other parked cars but you know what I don't own the road and just have to get on with it

If OP were to ask the school, I am 100% sure they will tell her it's for safety, not residents inconvenience. That's not to say the residents shouldn't be taken in to account but safety will be the reason it has been raised. No matter where you live, of people are causing safety issues by their driving or parking, it should be followed up. I wouldn't hesitate to call the police now.

I'm in a road opposite a school - due to inconsiderate and dangerous parking and vehicle manoeuvres we are now getting parking permits and no one will be able to park there.

Granny I'm not at all surprised something like that would still be so raw - what a terrible thing to witness, let alone when it's your own precious child.

I hope your DD is ok and that her pain lessens as time goes on

Charl1963 if you deliberately cause an obstruction on the public highway, you are breaking the law, it's a police matter and you are being as anti-social as the drivers you complain about.

This is what bugs me about these threads - different groups of drivers always demanding that other drivers get off the road and stop behaving badly, so that they themselves can get on the road behave badly.

I also live near a school. In fact there are several, all within walking distance. I'm not immediately on top of the school, that parking affects me (except for parent evenings, shows etc. when the number of drivers tends to be larger so park further down), but the increase in traffic is huge. If I time it wrong, I can be sitting in my car waiting to pull out for quite a while, and then find the traffic gridlocked as cars try to squeeze past each other. To get round this I try to stagger my departure to miss this time. It's just what I do. I think most people who live near a school do the same. On the upside our road is always gritted by the council as its a key road!

My sons school tried to do this with us too.

Myself and the majority of the other parents ignored it. If I'm legally allowed to park there, I will.

Ps, you can't walk to my sons school before anyone starts

I don't live near a school but do live very near a train station, about 2 years ago they put double yellows outside the train station. Since then it's been carnage on my street and most cars are there all day. There not illegally parked but some are causing many problems. I just can't see coming out of my drive in either direction, and the cars coming past can't see me it scares me everyday. The bin men cant get through so we all have to take our bins right to the end of the street. I know they have to park somewhere bit it is a pain is the arse and dangerous. Also if you didnt really know the streets layout the way it bends round and where that bend leads too you probably wouldn't even notice that your causing an obstruction

Still not getting it are you op. If everyone did what you did it would be more dangerous for the kids. How anyone can not see that is beyond me.

Well Waitrose what a bunch of entitled inconsiderate parents you are.

But everyone doesn't do what I do? Most kids live local, there aren't many of us who have to park, which is why I'm generally able to get a space in the street? What I object to is the school telling parents they can't park in a street when there are spaces to park there and no restricted parking.

Thank you pieface I just wish people would accept that they are part of the problem if they take a car to the school, no matter how considerate and safe they think they are being

OP if there aren't many who park, that really narrows down the people who are causing the issue, do you not agree that makes it significantly more likely that you are part of the problem

Exactly two. And what makes it worse is the way they seem so proud of their selfishness. Wonder if they'd be so proud if they seriously injured or killed someone with their twattish driving.

Francis I have this image now of riding a lion to my DS school and roaring at all the inconsiderate/dangers parkers/drivers!