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?

A road can be unadopted (privately maintained) but still open to the public.

On foot only.

Very, very few rights of way are extended to explicitly include vehicular traffic. It's more usual around farmland (because how else will a farmer move his harvest on the roads). But vanishingly rare in a town.

If you know where to look on Google Streetview, you can spot private roads. You can "drive" the view up to the threshold and then it stops.

@Wingedserpentfliesbynight but that's because you live on a public road. How would you feel if those same people were parking on your drive and playing in you garden because that would be the equivalent?

Also, it's not just that parking. The OPs set up may be different but at its worst, we estimated that the number of cars quadrupled on an average school day. Our road wasn't build to the same standard as a public highway (old road) so it will wear out four times quicker. At £50k to resurface, we can't take that lightly. We've also found that the people that have no interest in our road drive above the 15mph speed limit, drive the wrong way round the one system and drive over the tree pits killing the plants.

Whatever you do, do not block them in. It is illegal to prevent people from accessing the public highway. Blocking them out, OTOH...

Can you just put a few of these across -w wouldn't cost much split between you all?

Whatever you do, do not block them in. It is illegal to prevent people from accessing the public highway

One finds oneself wondering how car parks have managed to break the law for so long ....

Havent rtft but we have a number of roads like that around here. The school brought some child height I suppose you could call them cones.
I know some of the local residents did too as there was a big thing on our local Facebook page driving around you can see them near to schools too.

@ProfessorSlocombe: The word fines was used as a convenience rather than an actuality. as you seem to know so much you will understand that the engaged private parking company will do all of the work for their percentage of the charges. They set the rate according to the losses. A lot of people say ignore them but it is increasingly difficult to do that now as any extra charges involved increases the potential for the charge recipients to be cited for bankruptcy and financially blacklisted. They can get solicitors and fight it but the stress and time involved will prey on them and either way, they will get the message.

I echo StarUtopia, even just a few cones.

@Springersrock What happened when you got back at lunchtime?

ProfessorSlocombe: The word fines was used as a convenience rather than an actuality. as you seem to know so much you will understand that the engaged private parking company will do all of the work for their percentage of the charges. They set the rate according to the losses

I try to be precise where possible.

For all of that to happen, the residents are going to have to decide what their losses are, and then find a company that agrees and is willing to act on their behalf. I'd be curious if there are any that would.

Well, any reputable ones.

We have a problem in our village. It is a small, rural village with a thriving primary. My kids went there. We are within a two minute walk of school and my car is parked on the road outside my house when I am home.
The parents now are mostly from city outskirts that bring their children to school here. It has helped keep the school open. Most of the children used to be from the village. The parents that drove were always considerate but not many are now. The school sends regular letters home apparently. Most of the parents still park abysmally.

Examples are: parking on the driveway to a large house. I have seen two cars parked behind each other and when the owner opened his gate he was unable to drive out on HIS driveway. There is only one house.
Nearby a woman parked her new Mercedes on the junction. A lorry going to the chicken farm couldn’t get down and accidentally scratched her car. She shouted ranted and raved and was going to call the police until the son of the above house pointed out that she was illegally parked. The lorry driver had apologised.

Near my house is another junction. They park either side of the road so the Secondary school bus can’t get around. It comes from 6 miles away. One parent when checked after bus driver had been sat ten minutes actually had the cheek to tell her that she needed to learn to drive. Yes, it was a man. I told him he should learn the Highway Code ( I was out for a walk) and he drove off with no apology. Driver was stressed and kids would be dropped off late in every village.

Two children have nearly been run over because their parents weren’t watching them( trailing behind) and the driver came around the corner. The other driver was reversing. Luckily neither child was hurt but I held my breath when I witnessed it.

I can’t believe some people are suggesting the OP scratches the car or let’s tyres down. What if the driver doesn’t notice and drives off with children in the car. You could cause a serious accident.

Gate or bollards at the entrance, seems like a good idea. Pricey, but sensible if this is a real issue to you all.

With regards to managing it yourselves, one day would make bugger all difference. It would have to be an ongoing thing. And if that was the way forward, I would wonder if you and your neighbours realistically have the time and/or inclination to start moving cars around every single day between 8.15 and 9am, and again at pick up time to block the entrance.

You could put out cones but it's a bit of a hassle.
It's OK legally if a gate is.

I like the cones idea too. Cheap solution that might solve the issue. You'd have to be a special kind of CF to move the cones and drive through! (wouldn't put it past some of them!)

It would be a lot more fun to wait until they had all parked and then block the entrance/exit to the road. Just watch the chaos as they can't leave half an hour later. hahaha

It's blocking the access and egress of vehicles where the owner has paid the council to create a drop kerb

If it's a private road then why did the council have to be paid ? It's either private or it's not.

The problem is most schools have nowhere for parents to park at all. At my DC’s school your options are a small street of terraced houses or a private estate of flats with numbered car parking spaces. Either that or the double yellows directly outside of school which many parents ignore and park there regardless. There’s literally nowhere else to park whatsoever and some parents don’t have the option to walk, it’s too far. Double parking on the double yellows also happens. The school had a short lived initiative to try preventing dangerous parking but everyone ignored it so the school gave up. If schools offered a car park for parents this wouldn’t be an issue.

I heard parents asking the head teacher where they could actually park at the time and he asked them to park at the Morrisons which is about a five minute walk up the road. Trouble is Morrisons charge for parking, nobody wants to pay to park just so they can collect their DC from school.

School parking really is an issue at most schools that needs addressing.

You'd be fine so long as all residents on board and you were aware of the need to move the car should an emergency situation arise.

School parking really is an issue at most schools that needs addressing.

I doubt you'd find many who'd disagree. However, there is a question of "how" ?

Presumably there only there for about 20 mins twice a day?
Save your sanity and just let it go OP.

We’ve had people parking down our long drive (runs alongside the field) to go to a funeral at the nearby catholic church. They’d abandon their cars and be gone for 2 hours. We’d sometimes close the gates at the entrance to the drive but then they’d block the gates. At least it doesn’t happen every week. I’ve given up getting stressed by it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Presumably there only there for about 20 mins twice a day?
Save your sanity and just let it go OP

But if its a private road and the residents are responsible for paying for resurfacing it - why should they?

One finds oneself wondering how car parks have managed to break the law for so long ....

By parking in a car park you enter into a contract to pay for the service they provide. The carpark are not preventing you from accessing the public highway, they are preventing you from leaving until you have paid for the service they provided.

Presumably there only there for about 20 mins twice a day?
Save your sanity and just let it go OP

And what if the residents need or want to leave or return during those times? Having lived on school streets and had to commute to or past schools, my sympathies are with the OP. And, yes, I've done my years as a parent on the school run, too. Parents can park further out and walk a few paces more.

Can you stick flyers on the windscreens with a note about how it is unacceptable to park on a private road, and to block access to driveways. Print them off - it will look more official. You could sign them off " ..name Road Residents Association". Put the flyers on screens every day for two weeks. That should stop them for a while, then repeat as necessary.