To want to leave my house with a pushchair at school run time?????

[FarcicalAlienQueen]

OK so maybe it's my own fault for living next door to the school. And admittedly the cars that park on our side on the street do have to park up on the pavement slightly (otherwise no-one could drive up/down the road).

However, it's perfectly possible to park slightly up on the pavement, and leave enough space for me to be able to exit my front gate with a pushchair.

Just as well I didn't need to take the DS's out anywhere this afternoon straight after picking DS1 up - and therefore had just put DS3 down for a nap and dashed next door - I would quite literally have NOT been able to get out - a car parked just centimeters from my gate.

When I got back sent DS1 back inside and waited to speak to the owner of the car. When I pointed out that there was no room to get a pushchair through she gave me a whole load of crap that "all the other cars on this side are parked on the pavement".......well yes they were - but 95% of them had left enough space to get a slightly larger than average pushchair past (I have an Hauck Infinity and could have got past the cars with it).

She muttered something about "where else was she supposed to park" (wanted to tell her where she was currently parked would do - just with more of the car on the road than the pavement but kept my mouth shut), got in the car and drove off without so much as a sorry

,

We've lived here for nearly 3 1/2yrs now and it's NEVER been this bad for parents parking so inconsiderately.

the school is already doing all it can - it battled for 8yrs to get a speed hump put it......well that was a waste of time as it's so flat it makes no difference at all if cars drive over it quickly.

They've fully supported various other safety schemes to make it better and pushed for them - to no avail. But it's not just our school that's had problems with it - a lot of other schools in town have been pushing for better safety around the school for years but nothing ever seems to get done - apart from the odd appearance of traffic wardens.....

Despite years of residents (and school) protests and campaigns - they haven't even managed to stop the lorries (big HGV) using our street as a "cut through"........too much opposition from the supermarkets whose delivery lorries us it

Then there's the one way system which the majority of the residents on our street voted for......but adjacent street vetoed.......bl**dy joke at times.

Several of the parents that park on our street and adjacent ones are picking up children from the school up the road (the middle school which our infant feeds onto). While we also get a few parents parking to walk down to the Primary school just near where DS2's nursery is - about 10 minutes walk away.

Walking is a great idea if you live close enough - and (thankfully) most of the parents that live within reasonable walking distance do generally walk their children up - but there are quite a few who live too far to realistically walk - especially as they then go straight onto work.

As for making one side double yellow lines - OMG that would be a complete nightmare I genuinely don't know where all the residents on the "yellow lined" sides of the streets round here could park!

If you lived in Lambeth, you'd find that parking wardens would come round and ticket any car that was parked with two wheels on the pavement (cars are really heavy and pavements aren't generally designed to hold their weight). That'd stop inconsiderate people sharpish.

More practically, I would speak to your local council. Any obstruction of the pavement so that pedestrians cannot pass is an offence so I'd warn them with a note you're going to report them.

tudorrose- i am stunned! what on earth did your sister say to that? i think after a few night shifts i probably wouldn;t have held my tongue and sounded lieka fish wife so she would ahve been too scared to park on ym drive or within a mile of my house ever again.

like a lot of pp's ahve said send your child to school locally and walk there!

lol spicemonster - it would also mean that 50% of the residents on the street regularly got ticketed .

I prefer it when one of the school staff parks outside my house (car park isn't big enough for all the staff cars)........even though it means it's parked there all day, as

a) they usually leave enough space anyhow

and if they don't

b) I just pop into the school/ring them and they come and move it straight away (and more importantly apologise.........got a box of chocolates from one of the new teaching assistants last term as she felt really bad for blocking my gate and for the inconvenience of me having to ask her to move it).

Re: someone parking on your drive. I know of a case of this. Friend of a friend's DH came home to find strange car on drive and assumed a visitor to DW. He therefore parked across the end of his drive, effectively blocking strange car in, thinking he'd move it when visitor left. 5 mins later, there was a knock on the door and an irate (! can you believe?) woman (school run mum) asking him to move so she could get out. Rumour has it he told her to shove it and made her wait for a substantial amount of time before he could 'find his keys.'

luby - that's all very well to say "send your child to school locally and walk there"........but in one of the biggest (relatively new, and still expanding) residential areas there is one (heavily over subscribed) primary school. Near the other huge new development there are two schools - but one only has a small intake, and the other is a very selective Catholic School where the average joe bloggs hasn't got a chance in hell of being offered a place.

The only problem with lack of places in our town used to only apply to the Senior Schools - just the 3 of them with intakes that only cover a small fraction of the number of feeder schools they have. Now we have a problem of lots of new development - but no-where for the primary children to go to school "locally" - unless they travel half way across town and drop them off on the way to work,

I'm amazed someone would abuse a lollipop lady. She's there to keep the kids safe, including, one imagines, the children of the shouter?

nmc, you should come to our village. One of the lollipop ladies was frequently in tears over the abuse she got from people whose cars she stopped to allow children to cross. And we're in friendly Ireland!

Just drag your pushchair along the side of her car leaving a nice big scratch.

seb - I couldn't even get it out of the gate - or I would have done just that

ok fold the pushchair and drag along (it will cause more damage more sticky out bits )

people turn into demons when inside a car. I wonder if someone who shouts at a lollipop lady is like that in every day life?
I'm still amazed at that. Didn't they beneift from lollipops when they were at school?

In regards to the comment about choose a school locally and walk comment I have just been allocated the school in my 3 choices the furtherest away from me, which ds is attending the nursery at (have moved since nursery allocations). Its over a mile and a half away along some roads that have very heavy traffic as opposed to the 2 more local schools that are withing 10 minutes walk! I thought the government and schools wanted to encourage walking to school etc but there is no way ds will cope with that kind of walk aged 4 every day. So its with great regret that I will have to drive everyday but I have a will always try to be a polite driver and park nicely. The lollipop lady stories are horrific

Oh poor you nzshar - you would have thought being able to walk to school should be a priority but it doesn't seem to be. I hope your little boy will be happy regardless.

Ask the school to help. They can issue notes to all parents to park in a way that doesn't inpede pedestrians.

There is a bylaw about this too as it stops people in wheelchairs and such getting past - and pushchairs.

I would print up a few polite notices, something like, 'Parking on the curb contravenes bylaw ---- and restricts access to pedestrians, and is potentially dangerous. Please park on the road not on the pavement' and put them under their windscreen wipers as I passed.

I would as well!

But MT if I put a note on the cars saying to park on the road and not the pavement - I'd have to stick one on DH's car - as in the mornings his car is often the one parked outside our gate (but he leaves enough room for people to get past and me to get out).

If you leave enough room for a large wheelchair or motorbility scooter then that's fine. Maybe just point that out on the flyer.

Community action, I like it!!

luby she was a bit too shocked to do more than ask her to move really and she is normally more than able to stick up for herself! she contacted the school and she took the cars number and the school sent out letters saying this was not acceptable. the school is always trying to stop parents parking where they shouldnt and regularly get wardens and police community officers to watch out but parents just stop for a few days then it all starts again. i suppose some people just dont care

print off a few notices - "Thanks, you . Park like a , and i'll get past your car with the aid of a tin opener".
this drives me mental..it's rife round here, too. The owrst are commercial vehicles, though, as so many people are having lofts/basements done. Had a few stand-up rows, i can tell ye.

That might work too.

I think bidibidi's point is really important and quite scary.

I know that if a child is standing close to the back of my Volvo estate and they are not as tall as my back window I cannot see them.

I live on a road where you have to pavement park (the pavements are marked accordingly) and I worry about this, but I don't live near a school!

Is this a state school or a private school - I am quite surprised that this kind of parking is allowed so near to a school?

Why do some people find it so hard to be considerate? I usually walk my kids to school (and i live a good mile from school), even when i was 8 days overdue with ds2!, but there are plenty of parents who drive their kids every day when they live less than a 1/4 of the distance from school as we do. inconsiderate parking is horrendous outside school, double yellows, pavements etc etc, we've tried campaigning, with little effect. there's even permission from the local Tesco's, a 10 min (tops) walk away, to use their carpark, but i guess parents up our way are just too damn lazy!! i feel for you FAQ, and good luck with your fight for sensible parking!

I live in a small village with a very popular primary school. The cul-de-sac I live on has a rear entrance to the school. Many people drive round our estate just to get to the back gate as it means they have less to walk. How lazy can people be! My ds has requested he be able to walk to school without me. There is just no chance that I would consider allowing my child to walk too and from school alone as the amount of traffic would make it dangerous. I have mentioned this to the head teacher on many occasions, if I'm lucky a letter goes out and things improve for a short time. Some of these people would drive into the school yard if they could!

You should bring it up with the school governers if you don't want to do anything yourself

Only read the OP, complain to the school, we've had a notice in our newsletter this week about people parking and obstructing others walkways/driveways. As for 'where is she supposed to park' are her legs broekn? Park further away and walk.

I get really fed up with it at our school, everyone jostling to get the best position by the school gates and no-one taking any consideration for the children that have to walk on the paths.