To block the road I live on so people can't park there?

[namechangedpurelyforthis]

As the thread name suggests... I live on a private road. It's near a school. Parents park there all the time, sometimes on double yellows. They block our driveways and limit our access. Where would I legally stand if myself and other residents block the end of the road one day to block the cars in to send them the message that we won't put up with it any more?

www.safermotoring.co.uk/parking-near-private-driveway-what-law.html

I'd go for a chain across the end. Every car that drives on is contributing to damage to a road OP and her neighbours have to pay for.

Chain across, sign on the chain 'Parking £5 and hour'.

Talk to the school, they will notify parents. If this doesn’t work then take to the street with flyers, hand them to parents, block the street with your bodies rather than vehicles so if need be, it can be unblocked quickly. Write to the local paper to highlight the problem. Shame the selfish parents into submission.

I'd be nastier actually.

Wait until they park. And then block them all in. The police can go nothing as its private land and you're not obstructing your own access, you can park where you like on it. But they can't.

You can't block someone in.

But you may wish to park awkwardly and put a sign on your car. " Meeting in school back in half an hour"

www.self-ticketing.co.uk/ start fining them and make some money out of it!

As some have pointed out above, a private road can be a public highway so OP needs to know exactly where they stand before taking action.

Assuming there is no right to park (which may be the case even if there is a public ROW) there should be a clear sign setting out the charge for parking without permission. An independent contractor could be engaged to invoice and then sue recalcitrant parents. Contrary to the advice given above, clamping is now a criminal offence.

I'd go for private clamping and once it's earned enough money, use it to pay for bollards.

I would try the cones or cheap chain idea first, minimum outlay and will probably work.

I park outside my DC school for school runs and get there early to make a sensible parking decision. It's often the lazy and late ones that fling their cars about last minute. They won't have time to move cones or a chain and the problem will shift to another area.

Just for today, go park to block the road and read a book for half an hour.

Flash park. That'll stop them

Isn't the real truth simple - that most folk don't want to get up earlier, and they consider the whole getting kids fed and dressed a hassle in the morning, so by the time they leave to do the work and school run, there's only one thing on their mind - getting to those places on time no matter what.

If you leave late, it's likely there'll be fewer legal spaces on road. Hence driveways parked on.

If you leave late, it's very unlikely you'll be kinder to other road users and park a street away, then walk your DC to the gate. I highly doubt many people even consider this.

So for me it's the entire mentality that the problem, not road markings or barriers or whatever.

Leave earlier; plan better; act courteously.

Can you have a sit in? Deck chairs, fire pit and block the road?

Was the school there when you moved in ?

See, I'm in two minds about this.

Inconsiderate parking should absolutely not be excused.

However, on the 'private road' point....a new estate has been built opposite my child's school. Literally right opposite, and the houses are all a year old or less. It's 'private' in that it is unadopted, like most new built estates, so yes, the roads are maintained by the residents' service fees. But I really struggle to find sympathy with people who bought a house right opposite a school, and then complain that parents park there for half an hour in the morning, and half an hour in the afternoon, purely on the basis 'it's private' (as I said, inconsiderate parking can never be excused). I'm not sure what they were expecting?

I live on a private road with three schools near by and we have this daily. Whilst we have gates, they aren't electronic so it's tricky to close them unless a resident mans them and opens them for authorised vehicles. Some of the things we have tried over the years are:

• Very clear road signs stating it is a private road, owned by the residents, no unauthorised entry
• Spoken to the schools who regularly send emails to parents/put a letter on their website
• Give every resident a stack of printed letters to put on non-resident cars parked outside their house asking them to not enter the private roads
• Asked people politely not to enter the private road and explained why (bloody frustrating as it should be obvious but works well every September for new parents)
• Had a resident man the gates and only open for residents
• As above but with a PCSO. It sounds like this might not be an option with every police force but ours have been very helpful in providing support
• One resident did actually block in a persistent offender and refused to move. The woman got increasingly abusive to the resident but by then there were about 5 or 6 residents' cars backed up, unable to get out of the street so she backed down and never came in the street again!

For us, it's not just the parking. We have a one-way system in place and a 15mph speed limit, both of which are regularly ignored. We've also spent in the region of £60k resurfacing and maintaining our roads over the last 5 or 6 years. The more people that drive on it, the quicker we'll have to resurface.

Wait until the parents have parked, THEN block the road for the day/days/week - all depends on the residents and what they agree to

Legally you can stop them entering, but your going to have the police called if you block them in.

I think you could fix this with sprinklers. Get them on a timer squirting hard across the road at pick up/drop off time. Then if they park there, they and their children will get soaked.

@ioioitsoff and @TuckMyWin it's irrelevant who was there first. Private means private so in my case, that's exactly what I'm expecting. If you buy a house near a school and have your drive regularly blocked, is that ok because the school was there first.

In my case and I assume it's the same for many other private roads, I pay to resurface and maintain our roads, the parents will be no where to be seen next time I have to write another maintenance cheque.

@TuckMyWin The parents of the primary school I'm opposite thought that until us residents asked and got permit zone. They can and will come out all days of the week. Parents know it is not a good idea to attack them if they want their child staying at the school.

Oddly the parents of the nursery school nearby have never parked inconsiderately.

If you buy a house near a school and have your drive regularly blocked, is that ok because the school was there first.

No but it's obvious there will be a problem, hence I've never bought a house that close to a school. You know there will be problems so why invite them ?

@TuckMyWin presumably you're all happy to contribute to the maintenance costs which you acknowledge are paid for from service fees? I'm not sure what else you'd be expecting?

Contact a clamping company like my friend did. They were happy to oblige, it was easy pickings for them.

I really struggle to find sympathy with people who bought a house right opposite a school, and then complain that parents park there for half an hour in the morning, and half an hour in the afternoon

I think people appreciate that parking will happen but until you live there you don't realise how cheeky people are, parking opposite driveways, on bends, on grass verges, in turning areas. If people parked considerately it would be fine. And also parents used to be able to drop and run, or let their kids walk to the car but a lot of schools now require parents to be on site to drop off and collect so you have to park properly which has made the problem worse.