They are shutting the road to the school

[CheckMate2]

My DC school has just announced that the road to the school will be shut at drop off and pick up times to make it safer for social distancing.

This is a huge problem for me as I have 3 to drop off at different schools, they are asking us to park far away and walk.

I think it's down to the residents complaining about the parking but to close it completely seems so ott for the working parents and the parents who have to drive.

What do you think?

Unfortunately it’s the result of people not social distancing so in order to keep the school open, it’s what they feel necessary to do. Do you need to drop this child off first and pick up last?

Do the school have a right to close a public highway?

How old is the child? If there is no traffic can they walk on their own. We have loads of schools like this currently near us.

Parking and walking is fine - living near a school there are the perpetual problems of double parking, parking on pavements (ie inconsiderate drivers) vs loads of parents walking and dropping off
Am sure the residents have had enough and safety is always a consideration
We’ve had lots of near misses and some accidents outside of school because of the above

We have this at our school, it’s called “school streets “. It’s not to do with social distancing but people driving dangerously into the cul de sac where the infants’ gate is and parking illegally. People were also just dropped dc at the curb and not getting out which his highly inappropriate.

Parents of disabled children obviously get a permit to drive in.

Some people disobey it but it’s been fab. The by-product is that social distancing is easier as you can walk / cycle/ scoot on the road rather than on the narrow pavements.

Can you not just give yourself extra time OP??

It's the parents standing and chatting after drop off.

This DC is the last to be dropped off, only 5 so going on his own isn't an option I'm afraid.

How old is DC?

So you are a parent OP who perhaps is greatly inconvenienced by this, are there many others? Or just those who could walk with their child to school but cannot just get up ten or 15 minutes earlier?

I think it's inconvenient when you've planned your timing. But it is a matter of adjusting your timings to fit the situation.

I think more and more needs to be done for Less car use near schools. This means better access to local schools. This means no parking zones near schools (much safer for walking students who deserve to be prioritised. Greater provision of cycling lanes and fines for those endangering children with sloppy parking.

Unless it’s a private road, they can’t shut a public highway, only the local authority can, I’d be amazed that any local authority has the money to do this at the moment, have the done a consultation?

If it’s a private road it’s still completely unenforceable as they are not subject to highway rules and regulations...

I would guess the school has better things they would rather do than implement and police this. However if parents are driving/parking inconsiderately, gathering to chat, not social distancing, and blocking the path, the school have to put it in place to keep their pupils safe.

You’ll have to allow extra time to walk from the car like everyone else.

@CheckMate2

This DC is the last to be dropped off, only 5 so going on his own isn't an option I'm afraid.

If he is last to be dropped off then surely it’s just the two of you walking in then?

Unfortunately for you, I think this is something that might well stay after Covid. We have informal rules at DD’s school regarding the local streets and people do obey, which means it works so much better for the majority although I appreciate some are inconvenienced by it.

You can’t allow extra time if you need to supervise another child into school beforehand.
Can you arrange to leave the previous children with a friend at their school?

Can you rearrange your schedule or book in to before school club?
I am sure school is only doing it as a last resort after a lot of problems it's drop offs.

Do the school have a right to close a public highway?

No, but the council do, issuing traffic management orders is easy and legal for them, and sane ones support schools and local areas with it.

Your need to go by car does not trump everyone else's need for a safe environment, talk to the school about if there are walking buses or similar, or you'll have to pay someone to walk the kid the last bit if you can't manage anything else.

Are you in a town beginning with S in a county beginning with S?

1 local school to me has done this. It was one way and narrow at people were dangerously parking. There is a free car park less than 2 mins walk away. Parents now use this.

It is not normally the school who close a street. Local authorities all across London are implementing emergency timed school street closures for social distancing purposes during drop off and pick up times. It is funded by the local authority (and where there are ANPR cameras I am guessing they are being refunded accordingly).

I’d be amazed that any local authority has the money to do this at the moment

It's extremely cheap, and it's extremely effective, lots of local authorities are doing it, for London authorities (who can park their ANPR camera vehicles to enforce it and get revenue) it's likely even not cost negative, but there was also
www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-active-travel-fund-local-transport-authority-allocations
for extra funding for exactly this sort of thing (school streets are very effective at encouraging active travel as it makes the car less viable for the school drop off as the OP complains)

How long is the walk up to the school? Could you give your employer a heads up that the school have done this and it could make you late, and then you could try it and see how you get on?

Or is there a possibility of dropping your other DC 5/10 mins earlier to leave you a bit more time for the third drop off?

Can you not drop the other children off five minutes earlier so you have time to park up and walk?

I would think there has been several near misses and instances involving the police as well as inconsiderate parking by parents so the road closure has support of the council

To be honest not knowing the background I can understand why they are doing it but then again councils should only allow children to attend their local catchment schools to reduce the need for parents to drive their kids everywhere 🤷‍♀️

OP how old are your kids if they are at 3 different schools - any child over 11 is more than capable of getting a bus surely?

@Omeara

Do the school have a right to close a public highway?

If it’s where I’m thinking of it’s the local authority that are closing the road for a short period at either end of the school day.