To ask about parking on zigzag lines in front of school?

[WhoWants2Know]

Is this an issue for other schools? I don’t personally do it, but my local school has a number of parents who have always parked on the zig zag lines in front of school, as well as a couple of taxis who take kids to neighbouring villages. The other nearby school has the same issue, where parents just ignore the lines and park wherever they can. It’s a straight road, but narrow enough that the parked cars mean only one lane is left for traffic. School have recently sent letters asking people not to park there, but they do it anyway. Some have a couple of small children who I think are sleeping in the car.

Anyway, yesterday was the school’s pantomime trip. Letters and texts asked parents to collect children at 1:30, as the school was closed for a repair. Everyone arrived, including parents and taxis who parked on zigzags. The school building was locked and no staff or kids present. Coaches arrived after 1:45, with nowhere to park, and the road was blocked so that they couldn’t move forward either. So the kids disembarked in the road and wove through cars and a crowd of parents into the school hall, where they were then released.

Today the school sent home a letter cancelling next year’s pantomime trip and any other trip where parents might arrive at the same time as coaches.

I’m not entirely sure who is being more unreasonable here. The parents shouldn’t park there, but equally I feel like the school could have asked parents to collect after the kids were back to the school. They also could have asked at least one member of staff to be present to direct parking and direct the smaller kids as they got off the bus. Either way, punishing the entire school for the actions of a few parents seems a bit harsh, and I feel pretty sure the same parents will still be parked there tomorrow. Who is being (most) unreasonable?

[HidingBehindTheWallpaper]

So part of your complaint is that you had to wait outside in the cold for 15 minutes?
You are aware that teaching staff and mid day supervisors have to spend longer than that outside every day supervising break time, lunch time and early years outside areas.
15 minutes is no time at all.

Who exactly are you cross with?

[themueslicamel]

My school got so fed up with fucknuts and dunder headed swamp donkeys parking where the hell they like that the local authority (in a London Borough)has installed ANPR cameras, and if anyone parks anywhere near the school to drop of a child they are fined and get points,

Result?

Safe children, clear streets, more people walking children to school.

It was in the national press a few months ago, so OP, if anyone tried to behave lat my school like they do at yours they would be broke and loose there license in 4 days.....

[StripeyMonkey1]

At our school the coaches drop off kids away from the school and the teachers walk the kids back up to the premises. This is to avoid dropping the kids on the zig zag lines which could be dangerous, particularly during school hours.

The purpose of zig zag lines is to give kids walking home plenty of space to be able to cross the road. Coaches parking on these massively impairs visibility and is potentially dangerous.

So, yes, the parents in this case were unreasonable. But the school/teachers were more unreasonable in not making better plans for the parking of the coaches.

[StripeyMonkey1]

Are coaches allowed to park on zig zag lines?

Surely this should not be permitted either.

[kw1091]

I live opposite a primary school with zig zag lines that parents parked over ever day. Sadly recently a child was killed crossing the road as the view was blocked by cars parked on these lines. Thankfully people have finally stopped parking on the zig zag lines, it’s just tragic that something like that had to happen to make people pay attention of rules.

[AlexanderHamilton]

That is tragic.

People should not park on zig zags. Full stop.

[Middleoftheroad]

How utterly tragic and avoidable.

I fear this will happen in my road. Have complained to council that a child will be knocked down at some point. Possibly one of mine. They won't even come out and ticket the pricks.

[MinorRSole]

Oh @AlexaAmbidextra that's heartbreaking

[AlexaAmbidextra]

Some years ago I lived close to a primary school. It was in a narrow street and parents used to park anywhere they could, even on the zigzags. The inevitable happened and a small child was hit by a car. I shall never forget the sight of the mother kneeling on the road screaming while holding her dying child in her arms. That is the reality of these selfish, lazy parents and their parking.

[WitchesHatRim]

They could have had their trip and been picked up at the usual letting out time, and had the repair carried out on a day when kids aren’t there.

Why should a school have to schedule works around parents parking like idiots?

They are parking illegally. Perhaps a few tickets would get them obeying the law.

[Gazelda]

I'm firmly with the school on this one.
Selfish parents put children's lives at risk. They've been asked not to on many previous occasions, yet still do it. A child could have been seriously hurt (or worse).
It's time for drastic action.
The children's safety is the school's first priority, it's a shame the people who park on zig zags don't share that focus.

[aintnothinbutagstring]

This doesn't happen at our school so I'd say its the parents. Our headteacher stands outside the school and tells off anyone trying to park like a twat. I would never dream of parking on zig zags.

[BlessYourCottonSocks]

Every trip run by a school has to have been risk assessed and the paperwork filled in.

These parents have ensured that the school cannot run such trips any longer as their risk assessment will have to show there is a realistic danger of injury to a child if they have to weave through cars to get off the road. No school will be prepared to risk this - they would be absolutely crucified if the worst happened.

[Middleoftheroad]

As far as I can see, every poster has said the selfish parents are at fault, not the school. There's your answer. By ignoring all the posters, you are as bad as those parents.

I live next to a school road and have seen some shocking parking when my DS are walking off to school of a morning.

I drove to primary for 8 years and never thought it was OK to park on zigzags with kids around. You seem very blase about this.

[gillybeanz]

The school my 2 ds attended had to call Police and parents were fined, it worked for a while and then they had to come back.
A child was injured and there were so many near misses.
In addition to this they'd drive straight over a crossing in between the zig zags and round the lollipop man.
I kid you not.
Those parents were cunts and shouldn't be driving.

[HungerOfThePine]

Zig zag parkers give me a twitch even if it's just one, it's clear it obstructs the rd and they are there for a good reason.

Everyday when I drive to do school pick up I drive past a high school and the road in front is full of people parked, picking up or dropping off their dc on these zig zags, the rd is already a bottle neck with a right of way at one end, dangerous in many ways especially as teens just seem to float about the rds without a care in the world.
There's a perfectly good car park with a pick up and drop off zone conveniently with a roundabout next to the school that no one seems to use.

As annoying as it may be I think the school made a point.

[Hausfrauenvy]

Definitely not any fault of the schools, no matter how hard the OP tries to blame them.
OP they deal with the people who park badly, and the people who blame the school for the bad parking (you). They were 100% right to camcel future trips. They can't do right for doing wrong in the eyes of the parents. The only choice is to do nothing.

[GrooovyLass]

They shouldn't need cones they've already got something on the road telling people not to park there - zigzags!

When DD was at primary we had the same problem weekly when kids were brought back from swimming every week. One magnificent day the driver abandoned his coach, stormed into the playground and yelled that in exactly 3 minutes time he was driving up the road and if he happened to knock wing-mirrors off and scrape the sides of cars, well, that was just unfortunate. You've never seen people move so fast 😂😂😂

[PurpleMinionMummy]

If there were several hundred kids they probably don't have enough cones to cone off all that space.

[MammaTJ]

I think I would have got one member of staff to disembark, send the coach off somewhere safe but unknown to the parents/taxis and tell them that the coach would only return once it was safe for the children to disembark, which would mean them all moving!

[Originalfoogirl]

The simple spoliation would have been to tell those blocking the road that no child was getting off the coach until those cars were moved. I can’t believe the school let the kids out onto the road.

I don’t blame them for cancelling the trip. Of course the sins of a few spoiled it for many, it you said it yourself, you all watched it happening and nobody said a word.

[QueenUnicorn]

My friends little girl got hit by a car that had parked on the zig zags - they are there for a reason.
If the school cant ensure children are safe then they have no choice but to cancel.

[NorthernLurker]

Ffs op are you sure you don't park there? You seem oddly devoted to the cause of blaming the school. You're wrong.

[spanieleyes]

we put out cones to ensure that coaches have a "dropping off space" and parents have just driven over the cones!