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??

I would just ignore it tbh. Probably aimed at people who do part inconsiderately

No, EVERYONE who is using that road will be contributing to the congestion, don't assume that it's just people blocking drive ways who are causing problems. People grinding the road to a halt while they look for a legal place to park can prevent people who live there from leaving home even if their actual driveway isn't blocked.

My parking does not inconvenience anyone. If there's an issue with dangerous parking/illegal parking then they should deal with that rather than just saying "don't drive into x street between 8 and 6, there is no parking provision for parents blah blah blah". There IS public parking provision there!

We've had similar issues round our school. People parking in front of drives so residents couldn't get out, resulting in one person missing their appointment at hospital and so on.
Regularly in the newsletter, there is some talk about parking responsibly etc... and clearly complaints from residents.

The difference between our school and yours is that they haven't gone over the top and said NO parking in that street, which is stupid IMO.
Theyve said 'park responsibly, respect yellow lines AND drives'.
When it failed, they had the local police coming around drop off and pick up time and it's the Police who dealt with all the inconsiderate parking.
Much better way to deal with it IMO.

I've been parking there for about 6 years - it's busy at pick up time, but there's not loads of congestion.

They've asked for a reason. Just because it's legal or doesn't mean it's safe if everyone does it. The dc's school has the same problem, some parents are shocking drivers.

The ironic thing is that the only time I saw a car parked inconsiderately, blocking access to a side road, it was the lollipop ladies car.

The other thing is that you can't stop people using their cars to take the dcs to school.
Nor can you stop them from parking around th school. Saying you should be parking further away just moves the issue to different people.

It can be crap to live next a school because of that. There are times in the day that are extremely busy, the noise etc..
But then you also chose to live there and should have accepted that by living next to a school you would also have that sort issues (as in more traffic etc.. NOT people parking illegally).
As long as people are parking legally, there is nothing that should be done.

Ok OP so it's everybody else and not you causing the problems.

Can you not see that it would be safer for the children using that road in the mornings if there was less traffic?

Is there actually a good reason why you cannot just park a little further away on a nearby street?

The ironic thing is that the only time I saw a car parked inconsiderately, blocking access to a side road, it was the lollipop ladies car.

Maybe if parents hadn't taken up all the parking spaces she wouldn't have had to....

We've had this - a dozen cars parked on each side of a narrow road around school means a few will be wonky and fire engines can't get through, not to mention idiots nearly mowing down small children as they have to do a 3-point turn at the far end where there's a barrier.

Eventually some large planters were bought to keep on the 'keep clear' zone, and the council CCTV car frequently parks on the corner and films idiots, apparently raking it in but so far the idiots still aren't learning. It's only about 10% of families who drive to school but that's still 60 cars trying to park within about 200 yards during a 10-minute slot!

Wish we still had lollipop people on the main road, but the council had to cut them, so now lots of people are too scared to let their children cross that (because idiots regularly zoom through on their mobiles - I have to grab dcs every couple weeks and have had to push them back and put myself in front of a car a few times. Luckily no injuries yet...)

So if it's being a problem, expect more draconian restrictions soon if you don't oblige.

I live very close to a school at the end of a cul-de-sac. Parents in my experience are downright SELFISH and do not consider local residents when parking. They park half on, half off the pavement along both sides of my street, never directly over the drive but in such a way that gettting my mum bus people carrier car off the drive impossible.

School send out endless letters about "respecting our neighbours" and parking at a piblic car park TWO MINUTES walk up the road, but apparently round here we have special little snowflake children who melt in the rain and freeze in the cold, on the 2 minute walk to the car park.

OP - park your bloody car where you've been asked to and fecking walk. It won't kill you.

Firstly saying something is legal doesn't mean it's a reasonable thing to do. I could go round all day being a total dick to everyone I meet without breaking the law. The fact that the school can't enforce the rule (yet - they might bring it restricted parking if it becomes an issue) doesn't mean you shouldn't comply. You say the school has been there longer than the residents - but the high proportion of parents driving their kids to school is certainly a new thing.

On the other hand it might be that the dictat isn't aimed at you but at others who are driving or parking inconsiderately. Why not ring the school and ask for more details. There could be a very good reason to avoid parking there (too much congestion causing danger to kids walking, disabled residents unable to get access for their carers) or it could be that as long as you drive considerately it's not a problem.

Either way the fact that they can't force you to do it doesn't mean you shouldn't at least consider it.

I remember reading something a few years back that said most road accidents involving children happen around schools, which stands to reason really.
The streets around our primary school are chockablock at pick up/drop off times and it's really dangerous for pedestrians - especially young kids who can be unpredictable sometimes.
I would comply and park elsewhere.

Email school and ask for clarification about it then you will know for sure

Obviously people have been parking on the yellow lines, as they have mentioned that in the letter.

I bet the road is full of people looking for a rare space, turning round in driveways when they can't find one, sometimes 'hovvering' across someone's drive.

The school can't prevent to you parking legally on an unrestricted road, but they can ask you to behave considerately so that the school enjoys good relations with its neighbours.

And even on a parking non-restricted road, a great mass of cars chivvying and reversing and looking for spaces isn't great for safety.

Anyway it's legal, do what you like, you clearly will, and if you don't some other person with the same attitude will.

I am about to send photos to our council of cars parked on yellow lines on both sides of the road on all four roads at a crossroads outside the school at the end of my road. And suggest they check that all the Blue Badges displayed have the holder in the car (I know for a fact that two do not - I recognise the families). Hostile residents driven mad are not the best neighbours for a school that wants a good community relationship.

No, EVERYONE who is using that road will be contributing to the congestion, don't assume that it's just people blocking drive ways who are causing problems. People grinding the road to a halt while they look for a legal place to park can prevent people who live there from leaving home even if their actual driveway isn't blocked.

I think that's tough luck really. If someone chooses to live by a school they have to expect that there will be a lot of cars around for 15-20 mins a couple of times each day. If they can't cope with that they should live elsewhere. Obviously, people shouldn't block driveways or park illegally but I don't have much sympathy for residents near schools who complain about extra cars parking in the street regardless of how/where they are parked.

If people can't see why a school would rather parents didn't try and park right outside a school at drop off and pick off times you being a bit dim.

OP, let me spell it out. If everyone, like you, ignored the request and thought "fuck it, I can therefore I will" there would be chaos. And probably an accident. The fact that there are spaces outside your school is because everyone else is doing the decent thing and not parking there.

Honestly, I despair of people I really do. As abbrev said upthread "but why should I" - The motto of arseholes the world over."

Can you not see that it would be safer for the children using that road in the mornings if there was less traffic?

Genuine question, what do you mean by less traffic?
Do you mean less people using their cars to take the dcs to schoo?
Do you mean the parents parking further away so the children having to walk longer therefore having to cross more roads?
Do you mean it would leave more visibility to people to cross? But then why isn't there some double yellow lines before and after said zebra crossing to help with that (that was th evolution next to our school btw)?

If the same amount of people take their dcs by car, there will be the same amount of cars and therefore the same amount of traffic?

Our school has a small car park and a drop/pick up zone next to the pavement.

School have repeatedly asked parents not to park in the zone but to use the bays and then collect your child when you see them.

I had to go up to school the other day for a meeting at 3pm and parked in a bay. By 2.45pm the entire drop/pick up zone was full of cars. When the children actually came out, the cars in bays were spotting their dc but couldn't get into the zone so were walking across the car park, other cars were trying to drive round, cars reversing and it was utter chaos. Apparently it's like that every day.

No one seems to understand that if they don't start using what's been provided properly, then they will lose the use of the bloody car park and drop zone.

Smurfs. as pp said, its normally because the road is full of cars jostling for space, reversing up and down the road, turning round etc etc. Think about it. If a school had say 200 pupils even if a quarter of them drove to school and all tried to park as close as possible to the school gates within a 15 minute time period that would cause lots of traffic, congestion and would create a safety issue. If those 50 cars spread themselves out and had to, god help them, walk for 5 or 10 minutes there wouldn't be the problem.

The fact of it is, most people are reasonable and considerate but as is shown by this some are not.

Legal parking is fine but I wonder if the school newsletter was about reducing pressure on the road in question due to people not parking considerately. The two options could be - dont use the road or get there earlier to get a proper space and and think the school chose the former.

The problem will not be the OP if she parks as she says, its her fellow parents. Maybe the PTA can be asked about the letter and see if there is a solution (car share, walking buses etc).

Smurfs by less traffic I mean less traffic on one small stretch of road. The same amount of cars spread out over more roads obviously means the roads are less congested in general.

Yes it would leave more visibility to cross, but that's only part of the issue.

My issue is that when so many cars are trying to bag very limited spaces, normal rules of safe driving do not seem to apply. If people parked further away, they would find it easier to get a space, then maybe they would calm down a bit and stop driving like idiots.

Are there no pavements outside the school? Why would it be particularly dangerous? If it is dangerous then why is there not legitimate parking restrictions?

From what you have said I would continue to park there, but I think we need a diagram!!!!

But that's my point.
If you say 'no car in that's ttreet' and everyone complies, they will move to the closest street, all at the same place with all the exact same problems. Just a different road.
They wouldnt spread out because everyone would still try to be parked as close as possible whilst avoiding said street.
Of course it will depends a lot on the layout of the streets around the school. This would be the case around ours though.