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?

the parents who have to drive

No-one HAS to drive a car. We have legs.

A few schools in my city have this and have for a year or two - the roads were insanely dangerous before and now they are safe and welcoming.

It is inconvenient at first but you'll get to know where is best to park and figure out the new timings and you'll benefit from the lack of traffic on the final bit of the walk as much as everybody. On the whole parents here prefer it (although there were objections at first).

I'm afraid I'm another who is really supportive of schools closing off the surrounding roads to parent parking. Parents in a rush to drop off make it so dangerous for the kids. I can't count the number of times other parents almost reversed straight into us as we've been trying to cross the road.

I think you will have to look into breakfast clubs if you are struggling with the three dropoff times.

It's happened here as well but open for residents.

OP you need to think about the impact your choices have on others. Traffic congestion and air pollution around schools is a huge issue, which endangers children's lives and their health.

Exposure to air pollution can impact your child's lung development and is known to exacerbate asthma.

Also, traffic congestion and traffic fumes create an unpleasant environment for children and parents at the school gate. This affects everyone even if they don't drive.

The problem is made even worse by thoughtless parents who leave their engines idling for extended periods while waiting, literally pumping toxic fumes into children's faces.

The road closures you are complaining about are likely to be related to the School Streets campaign, which aims to close streets around school gates during pick up and drop off times to create a more pleasant, safer and healthier environment for all.

Here's some links for more information:

schoolstreets.org.uk/
www.mumsforlungs.org/about-school-streets

@MissMarplesGlove

the parents who have to drive

No-one HAS to drive a car. We have legs.

Don't be silly - no-one has to drive right up to the school (well even then, a disabled parent may have to) but many parents do have to drive to school when the school is at a significant distance to their home, or when they are leaving straight away to go to work.

councils should only allow children to attend their local catchment schools to reduce the need for parents to drive their kids everywhere

Local catchment school here, still have to drive to it. 4.5km away on country roads, half with no paths.

No-one HAS to drive a car. We have legs

I should walk a 7 year old 4.5km along country roads with no paths, in the rain,. and then walk 4.5km back and still get to work on time?
Newsflash: other people are not you and have different lives!!

We've had this for the last year or so and it's brilliant.

Now the only people who are allowed to drive down the road at the "penalty" times are residents (who generally don't anyway at those times), staff (again don't normally drive up at school start/finish) and those with disabled exemption.

Instead of a jam packed pollution heavy road with tonnes of dangerous driving and parking, we have a clear street which has helped massively with social distancing...aside from the obvious safety benefits.

We had a lot of parents complain about how unfair it was they couldn't just drive down the road for the school. But the council went ahead and installed the ANPR cameras and it's been a great success.

You need to work with this positive change to your child's school environment and ask them how they can support the fact that you have multiple school drop offs to factor into the extra walking now required.

Although I will add there's plenty of sensible parking within a 5 minute walk of the school so people can drive reasonably close if required.

@GoJoe2020 no, but it's not that unreasonable to ask you to drive to within 10 min of the school and then walk.

Fantastic idea, wish more schools would do it. Most people can make it work for the last kilometre or less.

Our council has closed a couple of roads in a school hotspot at peak times to all but FULLY ELECTRIC cars (and residents etc). Mixed reception so far

This sort of thing would be a problem for me. I drop DD off and go straight to work, I just make it on time so having to walk from the next street would mean being late for work (in a nursery so I can't just turn up late or change my hours due to ratios.) Then I have to go straight to school from work to pick her up, again just make it on time, so I'd be late picking her up every day.

While I agree that lots of people could walk and choose not to, could leave earlier etc- that's not the case for everyone.

The problem is a small number of parents are extremely inconsiderate/dangerous and they ruin it for everyone else. Be angry with them, not the school or the local residents.

I live on an estate with a school across the road, it is quite shocking how thoughtless people can be.

@CheckMate2

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

So if they are the last child to be dropped off, it shouldn't be a problem...

@JustCallMeGriffin

Although I will add there's plenty of sensible parking within a 5 minute walk of the school so people can drive reasonably close if required.

Yeah we have a large-ish car park with spaces for about 30 cars 5 minutes walk away.

Not good for the "absolutely must get as close as possible to the gate even when it means blocking lots of people in" crew.

Because they are selfish fuckers.

I wish they would do this at DS school. The parking is an accident waiting to happen.

So people have to park near the school so they can get to work on time....great, so do those of us that get continually blocked in by these oh-so-special people. Live near a school OP (and before anyone jumps on me, the school was built after I moved here, not before), and then you'll know what a "huge problem" looks like.

it's the same at my dc school since school started again.

no problem at all tbh. for small children (up to y2) they offer a walking bus from the nearby car park. older dc are expected to walk the 50 or so meters on their own.

Unfortunately this is what happens when parents park like idiots. It always the same people and not all of them are under pressure to get to jobs either. We also had issues with parents from another school parking across peoples driveways whilst waiting for the school bus which picks up from outside our school. Bloody infuriating as we get the blame.

It’s a pita op but I would rather that than for someone to have an accident and hurt one of the children.

@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?

What do I think?

If your school run traffic is anything like as bad as it is round here, then I don't blame the residents one tiny bit. They have probably got to the end of their tether. If the parents who drive to and from the school showed the slightest consideration for the people they are inconveniencing, it would never have got this far.

I wish they’d do this at our school. We have to queue in the road to hand children in the main door.

No pavements, we have to stand on the road. It’s a v narrow lane. The size of the vehicles people were attempting to drive up the lane today was ridiculous. Massive mini bus type vehicles. Trucks and all sorts. We are rural, but no one seems to have an ordinary hatchback. It’s scary trying to tuck in as much as possible when a muddy vehicle is cm away from your face.

In my area (rural) you now have to pay for school transport if they decide your catchment school isn't your nearest school. Some parents are having to drive a child to the same school an older sibling already attends. Free transport isn't a guarantee any more.

Won't residents now affected complain as it only moves the problem to different streets?

The idea is that people just walk or cycle the whole distance, as the vast majority live within a 10-15 minute walk. Plus it becomes far safer and more pleasant to walk or cycle as let's face it, school run traffic is about the most dangerous and considerate to be found anywhere. Therefore there are fewer people parking than before. Plus it's likely to be more spread out than before.

It's inconvenient for some, like the op, but I think we really need to move away from the idea that travelling by private car is essential, and our lives need to change to allow for the extra time taken for this kind of thing. The pollution outside schools is bad for children and it's not healthy for them to be driven everywhere. That should take precedence over convenience for a minority of parents.