To stand on road to stop parents parking illegally

[ChimneyPot]

Parking at our primary school has been hazardous for years. There is a crossing guard on the main road at the school gates but not on a side road lots of kids have to cross. Parents park on the double yellow lines at the junction of the side road blocking lines of site for pedestrians and cars trying to turn in and out. This often results in the road getting blocked and cars reversing back on to main road.
School sends repeated communication to parents without impact and has asked local authority for bollards and this is under consideration but hasn’t happened yet.

I used to collect my DC from the gate because of the risks but DC wants to be more independent and meet me further away.

I started asking parents not to park and the junction but have been largely ignored so I have started standing on the edge of the road to prevent people parking and this has been effective.
Today someone I know signalled to me to move but I smiled and shook my head and they had to park a few metres down the street . They are not happy with me.

AIBU to block the road?

I was talking about the many cases where nearby car parks are unused in favour of parking right in front of the school.

Do you have a PCSO you can contact? Ours come out periodically and the parents start parking legally and considerately for a little while.

In her own child’s safety?

You can definitely spoil a child, but can you be over invested in their continued safety? No.

I do wish people would just come out and say what they mean instead of talking crap. If you mean ‘I’m lazy, I just want the quickest easiest solution to getting my child to school on time, and I don’t really think me parking on double yellows is that much of an issue and won’t change until a child actually gets killed’ just say it. Instead of I’ll-thought out disingenuous arguments about blue badges.

Ill-thought out.

Yes a lot of defensive posts on here, presumably from people who yet again this morning parked exactly where suited them with no regard for the safety of other people's children.
But easier to splutter about busybodies than change their selfish behaviour.

Get yourself a high viz jacket, a clipboard and a digital camera.
Start taking photos of the registration plates and makes/models of cars that try to stop there.
Start taking dates & times and details of repeat offenders.
Report back up to the school.
Report to the council.

....

...

The above is a tongue in cheek suggestion on how to deal with the situation.

Good on you! I've done this too but we're in the minority unfortunately.
My advice, speak to the Head and get them to pull on a high vis and get out there with you. Also get the head to contact your local police because they can issue tickets. Often their presence is enough to encourage better driver behaviour, but in my experience, they need to come out regularly and the school should be leading on that. Another idea that worked for us is that the police come in and talk to ghe kids about why their parents should park responsibily and legally....the kids will carry the message home and won't want the public shame. Sadly though, there are always some adults who think that rules don't apply to them.

What really pisses me off is that the same people who block the roads are the very same ones who would be kicking off if it was their child who was knocked down.
You are 100% bloody brilliant for telling people to move on, just remind them that it could be their child's life you're saving. That usually shuts them up.
Oh, and be careful standing on the road. If you can wear a go pro discreetly, that's another recommendation.

This entire thread demonstrates the impossible position the school, the community spirited parents and the authorities have with this problem.

You cant argue with stupid people. They have had years and years of practice and they will not have their stupid, self centered approach questioned.

I believe its a bit like the XL Pit Bull thread recently. The family who gets one of these dogs exercises their rights to do so. Everything is fine until that one time the dog flips and kills their child. Then they appear on the news looking sad and saying they didn't realise. Stupid is as stupid does.

In this circumstance you have to take away their ability to act stupid or make it so expensive for them it puts them off. The people who talk about traffic wardens and PCO have it imo. A bit like speed cameras are used as a cash cow, i would target parents illegally parking near schools. £300 fines, no appeals. Points on licences. We will hear news reports about their hard luck stories but in the end its the only thing they will listen to.

Schools will be much more civilized outside. Money will be raised to pay for things. Possibly targeted at the school infrastructure. Kids will quickly adapt to walking a little bit further. Parents will easily find ways of dealing with the minor inconvenience of setting off a little earlier.

Grumpy but not funny. You’re talking nonsense.

It is a generalized issue that many have to tolerate and undertake every day.
The best idea would be a plan that involves helping all parties. Ranting with pitchforks at parents' parking will not make a change for the good.

There's a school near where I work too (so I have the lazy fucking idiots near my house, then again on the Route to work 🙄)
They queue in their stupid faux 4x4s all the way down the road, over a roundabout and onto a duel carriageway. It's dangerous. Really dangerous. It's a sketchy roundabout at the best of times.

They generally lack basic driving skills too.

It's really bad at the moment because the new parents are being assholes, so now begins the yearly email campaign of harassment against the school and council until it's dealt with.
Hopefully some tickets and points will see them off until next year's influx of pfb's.

I was considering purchasing a house 12mths ago. 2 exactly the same houses. One had a smaller garden. The other had views of fields, a bigger garden and was on the same road as a school. I said to my partner we should consider the house near the school. My partner asked if i was fucking mad! No chance.

Every now and then i acknowledge my stupidity and drive past laughing to myself whilst the home owners have to put up with all their drives blocked, the pavements blocked and kids playing knock & nash.

Parking enforcement have replied to me and are sending a clamping unit.

AWESOME!!
Keep us updated 🙂

Progress. Let us hope it is effective.

I'd prefer points on licences but better the clamping than nothing at all.

Brilliant news! Congratulations @ChimneyPot I hope all the children will be safer through your efforts.

And yaboo sucks to all the lazy entitled illegally parking parents on this thread.

This

Our school got a couple
of those big do it stop her yellow sign things after a child got hit by a parent pulling in. Seems to mostly have done the job.

Also - if the school highlight the issues to the council they’ll send wardens down around school drop off time

What is really frustrating about this thread is the assumption that people parking to drop their children are lazy. Believe me, I'd love to be a sahm or work from home, but my circumstances mean I have to commute an hour to and from.work. That means with two children to drop and collect from school,.it's all very tight for time. I have to drive them. We'd all rather not.

I have parked in spaces where I shouldnt and I've been shouted at by mums wearing yellow jackets waving plackards around and insulting me. These mums are fortunate enough to be sah parents and have time for such things.

If you genuinely care about safety, then work politely with all parties - parents, schools, drivers and pedestrians to find a workable and compassionate solution for all. Don't throw random accustaions about how inconsiderate and lazy parents are to drive. I certainly don't feel lazy. I am constantly frazzled and always in a rush and would rather not be. I'd love there to be nice parking spaces or turning points available, or a community walking bus I could drop my children to before going to work, but those things don't exist.

Parents who drive and sometimes have to park where they have to park are usually neither lazy nor inconsiderate. They may well be stressed, frazzled, very hard working (not lazy) and need some compassion.

I think some of the mums at my school that shout insults and stomp about in yellow jackets at drop off time are also church attenders who spout kindness and compassion on a Sunday morning. The irony.

It’s not your place to do this.

I understand that the parking situation is frustrating for you, but it is not your place to enforce parking restrictions. You are not a traffic warden.

You cannot take it upon yourself to police people like this. You have zero authority in this situation.

What you are doing is incredibly inappropriate and inflammatory. You need to back off. This is for the school and local authority to sort. It’s not your place.

I have parked in spaces where I shouldnt and I've been shouted at by mums wearing yellow jackets

if you are parking illegally then you will put the lives of others at risk

i had to use wrap round care as time was tight, it cost me money I couldn’t afford so we went without other stuff, frazzled but safe

I have parked in spaces where I shouldnt and I've been shouted at by mums wearing yellow jackets waving plackards around and insulting me.

There is no excuse to park illegally. You are endangering everyone, especially other children. But it sounds as though you don't care.

Why do Parents who refuse to park a short walk away need 'help'.