AIBU in thinking the first day of term is going to be lively.

[AuntieCJ]

I live near a primary school where there have been constant problems with dangerous parking by parents.

At home time both sides of the road are lined with cars half on, half off the pavement. This hardly leaves room for single traffic to get through.

On the way past yesterday I noticed bollards like these. But closer together. I think I'll avoid that lane once the schools go back. Parents have almost come to blows about the parking several times and the staff are constantly calling the police to clear them away.

Off the topic but how cool are those bollards!

They have red ones as well.

I think it’s a good idea hopefully they will all park further away or walk. You’re right it’s probably gonna be a nightmare first week full of dangerous Parkers and arguments for a while. Wish they would put them up outside our school!

Great idea, my DC’s school needs to do the same. The bollards are cool too.

Excellent bollards.

Such a pity that a tight budget has had to be spent on them because of some parents' selfishness.

Oh that’s excellent!

I’m always amazed at parking round primary schools, utter carnage.

I used to park like 3 streets away and walk DD to school and most others were parking as close as physically possible to the school gates, never understood it!

There's a village pub car park 200 yards away and several lanes off the main one. Just lazy parents.

They’ve started putting temporary/moveable ones on the pavement outside the primary here. Not because people park on that pavement but because people are mounting the pavement to drive on it to avoid having to wait for the traffic coming the other way to pass!

Something happens to people’s brains when they are doing school run. It’s like they flip from being a completely normal, safety aware person to some deranged maniac with a time bomb in a booster seat that they must get as close to the school as possible within 30 seconds.

They're brilliant, but from the pictures it looks like there's quite large gaps between them, so I don't think it will stop people parking there.

This is a google photo. The ones here are much closer together. :)

Surely the selfish road blockers will continue to park on the pavement - just between the bollards? The gaps between them are huge!

That’s just a stock image, though. The OP says her local bollards are closer together.

Do people actually park on the zigzag lines as well, OP? One parent used to at my DC’s primary school. She wasn’t English and we were all too British to say anything, just gave her car a hard stare!

That’s a brilliant idea. Please keep us updated....

Close up, those bollards look remarkably like pencils with erasers on top!

We have the same problem ilovemax- people driving along the pavement so they're not held up by school traffic DH has been nearly hit whilst walking half a dozen times, and he's not exactly tiny and child-sized.

Yep my son was almost hit when he was 7. I was a several feet behind him and this car just bounced up into the pavement between us. I was close enough to the car to be able to bang on it to make them aware there were people right there. Terrifying.

There's a large free public car park 10 minutes walk (child speed) from our local primary and secondary schools, which are in the same complex. Surprise surprise it's usually empty while the roads around the schools are dangerously crammed. I know parents have to work and get places but I find it hard to believe that a short walk can't be factored into their routine.

We used to be allowed to park in Tesco when my 2 were at Primary. But we usually walked but the amount of poor parking was scary at times. There was one day I saw someone get in their car. I walked to my childminder's house to collect something and my shock at seeing said car drive into a house opposite the childminder. She said the mother drove the child every morning then would drive back to the house before going to work. My childminder lived about a 22 second walk from the school gate!

Love those bollards.

We have a park and stride scheme, about 3 minutes walk up a path with no cars and no roads to cross
Loads of parents still park all over the place

I wish they'd do that by my school. My kids almost got run over the other week by a mum veering up the pavement to park. They park in between the bollards, on the zigzags and totally block the pavement. Again, there is a village pub and church car park freely available nearby.

Our school has those pencil bollards, they are awesome.

I hope it solves the issues. People really don't like to walk more than the length of themselves at school drop offs for some reason.

We had a stern email from school yesterday about selfish parking right up to the junctions which puts children at risk as they try to cross the side streets. All because lazy parents won't park further and walk.

Won't make a blind bit of difference, we've lived close to a school for 12 years, have had endless polite reminders and emails and nothing changes.

A school near me has two 'pupil' bollards painted in school uniform. I still do a double take when I occasionally drive past as the brain sees 'small child'.
Those pencil ones are great.
(Shame they're not penguins...)

They look like a great idea! Our school has the same problems too. They have purchased orange cones by are waiting for council permission to use them! I do drive to school but park a few streets way and walk, to avoid congestion and angry residents/parents. I actually live very near to a primary school that doesn't have parking issues?! Don't know how they do it?!