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?

introduced at a school road ner me a year or so ago near me, so unlikely to be covid related,
More likely parents that can't be arsed to walk five minutes, or turn off their engines when they sit outside the school - or alternatively to reduce the risk of the little darlings being run over.

@ImFree2doasiwant

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

Our catchment primary is 4 miles along unlit country roads with no foot path other than 200 yards before the school. My 3 yr old goes to a pre school 9 miles away. We're not walking and yes, I have to drive to work after dropping them off on some days.

I’m in a similar situation. I think the solution is more school buses.

Our catchment primary includes 10+ neighbouring villages and hamlets, plus isolated farms etc. There used to be tiny schools in most of the villages, but they were closed throughout the 80s and 90s. The school has just one minibus with so many hoops to jump through and such a long waiting list for places that my DC never did manage to get one. I can’t remember all the rules now, but I do remember that children did not qualify until the term after they turn 5 and children aged 8+ don’t qualify at all if they live less than 3 miles away (we are just under this as the crow flies, just over by road).

The LA spend a lot of money on promoting walking to school, but won’t put on more buses. The road is far too dangerous to walk and, even if it wasn’t, I can’t afford to give up work in order to spend 4 hours each day walking to and from the school.

Sorry, but of a rant there and no relevance whatsoever to the OP’s post

Wish they'd close the road to the school to anyone except residents here. Since lockdown it's been awful with people just stopping their cars in the middle of the road and leaving them there. Or double parking so they block residents in. There is plenty of space if people parked just a little bit further from the school, but everyone is determined to park as close to the gate as possible. It's not been helped by the fact the school has two entrances, but closed one to allow social distancing so the traffic has doubled on our road.

Watch small children being put at risk every single morning outside our school - you would see why this is needed.

Cars are a blight - yes of course in SOME situations parents need to drive - but they also need to see how this causes pollution and the risk of a child being hit.

Cars bump up onto the pavement literally inches from 4 year olds queuing to get into reception - due to bloody covid the school refuse to let kids wait in the playground it is hideous and dangerous .

It is extraordinary how some posters just cannot imagine anything even slightly different from their own experience.

If any one of my schools implemented similar, my whole school run would be screwed. It isn’t as simple as ‘set off 5 minutes earlier’ - first drop off is already booked in to breakfast club, and I drop the minute it opens. No leeway there. I do this in order to get second child to their school within their drop off window - this works, just about, as long as there are no major traffic screw ups. Then off across county, and into the next one, to get third child dropped off (SN school, so no choice of location!), and again, that only works if there are no major traffic incidents.

Then the whole lot in reverse in the afternoon, where I already have to pick up first child 10 minutes early every day in order to manage collection times for the other two. Last one collected is booked into after school club (and was also the one at breakfast club, and is the youngest - he’s 8 and at school from 7.30-5). There just isn’t any give at all, and it would be a nightmare for me to have to suddenly find an extra 15 minutes (5-7 minute walk each way) in the middle of it all - my whole routine would break down and not work at all.

It’s really not too hard to see how it could be difficult for the OP, she’s hardly complaining about having to walk an extra hundred yards, is she?

Cars are a blight - yes of course in SOME situations parents need to drive - but they also need to see how this causes pollution and the risk of a child being hit

This.

You may find it necessary, convenient, or safe (or some combination of those reasons) to drive your children to the school gate, but by doing so, you are putting other people and their children at risk.

And of course people with disabilities (children, parents) are a different matter.

But anyone else? use a bus, use your legs - even if that is what the OP describes - a car park "far away" - I mean, what is "far"? Having been brought up in the countryside, where the nearest bus stop was a mile's walk away, something over a mile is "far". Less than that, well, really ...

@ElfDragon

It is extraordinary how some posters just cannot imagine anything even slightly different from their own experience.

If any one of my schools implemented similar, my whole school run would be screwed. It isn’t as simple as ‘set off 5 minutes earlier’ - first drop off is already booked in to breakfast club, and I drop the minute it opens. No leeway there. I do this in order to get second child to their school within their drop off window - this works, just about, as long as there are no major traffic screw ups. Then off across county, and into the next one, to get third child dropped off (SN school, so no choice of location!), and again, that only works if there are no major traffic incidents.

Then the whole lot in reverse in the afternoon, where I already have to pick up first child 10 minutes early every day in order to manage collection times for the other two. Last one collected is booked into after school club (and was also the one at breakfast club, and is the youngest - he’s 8 and at school from 7.30-5). There just isn’t any give at all, and it would be a nightmare for me to have to suddenly find an extra 15 minutes (5-7 minute walk each way) in the middle of it all - my whole routine would break down and not work at all.

It’s really not too hard to see how it could be difficult for the OP, she’s hardly complaining about having to walk an extra hundred yards, is she?

By the same token, none of these rural schools with country lanes and large catchment areas seen to be schools involved with this type of scheme.

And it does seem to be the case that the places that are implementing it are places with a lot of parents who could walk but don't want to and are the problem parkers.

Is that too difficult to imagine too?

We seem to be excusing the OP (who hasn't replied yet about the age of her other children) on the basis that some schools are in the middle of butt fuck nowhere and that means its perfectly reasonable for town and city dwellers to act like selfish bellends on the school run.

The number of daft posts on this thread absolutely determined at all costs to say its a stupid idea without having the foggiest notion about the area the OP lives in or whether her other children could possibly be dropped off slightly earlier because they are older is mind boggling.

It isnt about the OPs resistance to the scheme. Its about other posters horror that the scheme exists at all and might destroy their lives when there isnt a cat in hells chance it would ever be considered at their school precisely because its ridiculous for where they live. And people seem to be confusing the two.

I know of 4 or 5 schools fairly locally at least considering the idea and bloody hell they'd all benefit from it and its not an unreasonable idea for any of them.

You may find it necessary, convenient, or safe (or some combination of those reasons) to drive your children to the school gate, but by doing so, you are putting other people and their children at risk

No, I'm not, and neither are most others.

I have to drive my child to school or they can't go to school. It's as simple as that. I'm no danger to anyone else, no children are at risk from my car, they are also getting dropped off in cars, or school buses. We are no risk to people living near the school , there are hardly any neighbours and they are farms and large houses not impacted in any way.

Look outside your own little bubble and try to understand that not everyone lives your life. I don't need your advice to walk or cycle or park further away and walk...none of those are practical and none of them are necessary.

We seem to be excusing the OP (who hasn't replied yet about the age of her other children) on the basis that some schools are in the middle of butt fuck nowhere and that means its perfectly reasonable for town and city dwellers to act like selfish bellends on the school run

She's got 3 children at 3 schools and needs to drive. You can't understand that. The other stories from people are trying to help you open your tiny mind to the fact that other people have lives that aren't exactly like yours.
She doesn't need to be excused, or to get your approval. She needs to drive her kid to school, end of story. Nobody cares what you think about that.

RedToothbrush - I ‘could’ walk to my first drop off. In fact, I’d love to, but timings don’t allow.

Neither first nor second school are in the middle of nowhere, and both could implement such a scheme (in fact, first school does heavily promote a walk to school week each year, and I regularly get glared at by other parents when I don’t participate). I don’t live rurally.

Third school is in the middle of nowhere, but such is life. That school is obviously unlikely to implement such a scheme, but if either of the other two did, it would still make the timings unworkable for us.

I am not saying that these schemes are unworkable as a whole, but the number of responses the OP got along the lines of ‘well it’s simple, just set off 10 minutes earlier’ was high. It isn’t always that simple (and does no one think the OP might have thought of that one? 3 children at 3 schools is not simple to coordinate, generally)

Oh, and age of other children isn’t relevant. My eldest is 16, but is the one who most needs me to drop off. Next child is 14, but again, making her walk/get another mode of transport to school would have a huge impact on her (not least because she plays cello, and lugging that about while walking to school isn’t much fun, but there are other reasons too)

My youngest is the one most likely to be able to get himself to school when the time comes, but that very much depends on where he ends up going for secondary, and the transport options available at the time (and whether he too carries on playing cello 🤦‍♂️ Why, oh why could they not just play something easily transportable, like the flute?!)

My DD's school is on a small residential road between two major routes; most of the children walk, cycle or scoot to school, very few are driven. Despite this, we had huge problems with drivers using the road as a shortcut/rat run; they'd speed up the road at drop-off times despite the fact that visibility is poor and children were coming out of school. We had several near misses, until the school streets closure was put in place. It's much safer now, drivers can go the longer way around and you don't have the stink of diesel hanging in the air.

I totally understand parents needing to park for work etc but I have noticed that a large majority literally don’t care. They park how they want when they want so I get the school cracking down.

@FudgeDrudge

We seem to be excusing the OP (who hasn't replied yet about the age of her other children) on the basis that some schools are in the middle of butt fuck nowhere and that means its perfectly reasonable for town and city dwellers to act like selfish bellends on the school run

She's got 3 children at 3 schools and needs to drive. You can't understand that. The other stories from people are trying to help you open your tiny mind to the fact that other people have lives that aren't exactly like yours.
She doesn't need to be excused, or to get your approval. She needs to drive her kid to school, end of story. Nobody cares what you think about that.

I dont believe that on the basis of whats shes said.

She missed a lot of important information.

Its more, she doesn't want to because its more inconvenient.

And tbh if im unsympathetic its because ive had a gutful of bullshit excuses from parents over the years which are just that excuses.

Not sure I see the problem if this one is the last drop off you have to do. You just park one or two streets away and walk the last few minutes?? This is perfectly normal. If your child is a few minutes late as a result, you'll need to explain to the school, but I'd expect them to appreciate the reason. It would have been harder if the knock-on effect was lateness for subsequent drop-offs, but it's not the case here.

And tbh if im unsympathetic its because ive had a gutful of bullshit excuses from parents over the years which are just that excuses

Highly unlikely that the OP lives near you. so what has your personal experience got to do with it?

*By the same token, none of these rural schools with country lanes and large catchment areas seen to be schools involved with this type of scheme.

And it does seem to be the case that the places that are implementing it are places with a lot of parents who could walk but don't want to and are the problem parkers.*

This is a good point. Something like 80% of the population of the UK live in towns and cities. Yes, people do live rurally, but the majority don't, and most of the school streets closures are happening in towns and cities, where congestion and inconsiderate driving is a real problem. If you live rurally, and driving is your only option, it's unlikely that anyone's going to stop you. If you live in a city, where there are alternatives, it's time to consider them.

My town's FB page is in uproar because the school has asked that parents don't park on the road leading to it this afternoon. The reason...there is a funeral cortege leaving a house along there at 3pm and they won't be able to get past the parked cars. There are actually comments about how the family should have changed the time because of the inconvenience they are causing.

I'd get in touch with the school and explain the situation. They may be happy for your child to be a few minutes late for the duration of social distancing. I doubt the other schools would allow your other children to be taken early as I know they don't like people waiting around at the moment, though it would be worth getting in touch to see if you could.

Don't worry about it though, it'll be sorted one way or another.

I think its really important to support schools in what they are doing right now so I would simply find a way round it. Just drop the others a little earlier? I really don't see how this could be a massive problem. It might put you out by 5 or 10 mins, but if the school think it will make everyone else safer, then it is the right thing to do.

I'd love them to do that here!

Until you live on a road with a school, you don't understand how bad it is!

I think its great if you want to live away from amenities but you cant then complain about driving issues

privatdoor 5-10 mins for me would mean being unable to park at my place of work. Incurring £8 per day parking charges and being late to register my form. They'll be there waiting for me. I can't change that. Its not just a case of being at m desk a bit later or not having time for a coffee. And I can't drop them earlier because I'm not allowed. Of course there will always be lazy twats on this issue but many many people simply do not have other options but to drive, do not have the option to build in more time to allow for walking or biking, or use routes that would be unsafe.

It actually takes not very long to park further away and walk op. I have 4 children at 3 different schools. I'm only ever late if I try and park close by. 2 streets away and it takes
Literally 2 minutes to walk as it's good exercise. Your timings can't be so tight that you don't
Have 2 minutes. You are lucky it's the last child to be dropped / picked up - you won't have to get them all out of the car.