I live in a road with a school

[Truffle55]

Apologies in advance for the rant and slightly long message…

I live in a road with a primary school at the end. I’ve lived here for 25 years and I totally understand that parents need to get their kids to school - I too, need to do the same.

But…

Recently the behaviour of the parents dropping off and picking up their DC has been, frankly awful.

I have come home from picking my DC up from school to find someone parked on my drive! And now, someone thinks it’s “ok” to park across the T-junction into the road. This means I have to drive around them and into cars coming out of the road (from dropping off/picking up DC) to get onto my driveway (assuming no one is “borrowing” it).

I do understand people need to take their kids to school, I have to do it too! But really? Why are they so inconsiderate? When I pick my DC up from school I park away from the school… and we have an agreed process if I’m not there due to not being able to park SAFELY (I do get that DC is at secondary school and its easier to do this).

However, the parking by my house is getting out of control - the person who parks across the junction lets the children get into the car - roadside…. This is just dangerous!?

I’m at the point now that I just push through the cars because I feel “I live there, and I have right of way” - but that makes me uncomfortable.

And, let’s not talk about the addition is of an ice cream van!

Anyway, I’m considering contacting the school or even the police to see if they can do anything - sadly, I really feel, it is an accident waiting to happen 😕

I would be taking photos and posting on Facebook without doubt if this were my drive.

Although I don't live in a school road, I am a childminder who goes daily to drop off and pick up from a one form entry primary school. This school is next to our parish church at the edge of our town centre and is at the end of a cul de sac. There is a large turning circle at the end of the road which has a private road entrance off it opposite the entrance to the school car park, which is also shared with Almshouses.

There is no pavement around the end if the cul de sac so you need to walk across it to access the school. The amount of parents who park in the cul de sac on the zig zags and double yellow lines plus partly across the private road entrance make it so dangerous for any one trying to cross over on to the pavement and especially with young children plus school children, as you have to stand and wait for those who are parked to move plus wait for those who have parked further up the cul de sac, but then have to drive down to turn round to get out again and who have no respect for anyone trying to get to cross the road. It certainly seems to have got worse over this school year and especially when wet! I always walk to school with the children as I would not want to try and park our minibus down there due to lack of parking spaces and then having to spend time getting children in and out of the minibus and driving home again when I can walk it in just over 15 minutes easily and would spend nearly that total time loading the minibus, driving , finding a parking space and unloading it again, putting up a double buggy if needed and then repeating in reverse with extra children on either drop off or pick up. The exercise is healthy for them and me and we have good conversations on the way.

I am aware that the school doesn't have a catchment as such as it is a Church Aided School therefore the pupils come from across the town and parents would need to drive there, but there is a car park nearby they can use without having to pay for, with a permit given out by school, which is only a few minutes away. A lot of parents do use this car park, but there is always those who are repeat offenders with their parking antics at school. Messages go out in the school newsletter, as at other schools, but it doesn't really make much difference. It only improves if the parking warden is around.

The issue is worsening due to no enforcement. Neither police nor councils have the budget to deal with minor traffic issues like like.

Thanks go to the Tories for cutting services so much.

The issue is worsening due to no enforcement

the issue is worsening as more people drive their children to school and some park like entitled toddlers

anpr cameras and bollards, operation snap fir ridiculous parking and it’d stop. Imagine getting £80 fine from police fir illegal parking and then realising you did it every day for a week 🤦‍♀️

Our local council has a traffic car which sorts it out whilst it's there.

It’s like people who buy flats above pubs then complain about the noise..but doesn’t excuse the verging on criminal element of behaviour

The problem is, many schools have increased in size. I live near a school and have a similar situation to this OP. When the school was built, it was for 200 children and it had a catchment area that meant no one was more than a 10min walk away.

Then, despite the lack of parking, they increased the school size to 750 pupils and removed the catchment area, meaning that we now have lots of parents driving to our residential area.

The estate was built with plans for the school being only 200 children of walkable distance.

It's unfair to blame residents for buying near a school when they didn't know the school would change as it did. The problem is the parents parking, there is plenty of parking at the far end of our estate which is no more than a ten minute walk away, the problem is, the parents insist of parking right outside the school, blocking driveways, parking on tight bends, parking right on a T-junction. Also sitting in their cars for 30mins prior to collection time with their engines and loud music on etc. It's so inconsiderate to residents.

I live opposite two schools next to each other. And we have all the same issues
On a previous thread i posted that i didnt buy. Its social housing so i was allocated it. Still got told "well you could swap" Our HA had to get a parking warden and issue tickets because the parents were parking in our car park.

I think it's becoming a big problem in a few areas. I notice some really selfish drivers at my kids' school - blocking driveways, mounting pavements etc. Also a child at a school local to us almost died and sustained life-altering injuries when they were hit by a car mounting the pavement.

In a school I have to visit for my work, they've blocked off the road between key drop of hours but as far as I can see it just pushes the problem onto the adjoining streets instead.

As well as selfish drivers, I'm also seeing a lot more dog poo these days and noticing more people leaving their engines running for ridiculously long amounts of time (a man did it for the entire 45 mins of my daughter's ballet lesson the other day!). Not sure if it's people becoming more selfish though or me becoming less tolerant of it.

This used to happen at my DDs PS years ago. The school had to send emails to Parents reminding them of their responsibilities. But it's suburban London and most families live within a mile and a half of the school, with good transport links, so I never understood why they drove in the first place. I was on the edge of the catchment and walked DD to school.

This

@Misthios wow. I'd definitely be blocking them in and giving sparky responses- well now you're going to be even later as I'm not moving. You'll get plenty of time to enjoy watching the rain keepong dry in your car whilst you wait for me to have a cup of tea before I move my car. You definitely won't be two minutes, I'm not moving for at least 30 mkns etc. CFs!!

I’m amazed you haven’t already contacted the school. Both my DC’s school will email all parents immediately if there’s bad parking/behaviour and if it has been particularly egregious the deputy head dons his high vis vest and patrols the street! Thr neighbours have also involved the local council who have dispatched parking wardens to keep an eye.

Or the Mumsnet classic:
Open the door with a drowned glass of wine in my hand, tell them I can't drive until the morning now.
Would they like me to call a Taxi though? 😈

This is what I'd do. I have done that before (not due to a school but our drive is right next to fields where dog walkers take their dogs). That person never did it again!

Some police areas have a website where you can upload photos of illegally parked vehicles.

If the police agree it's illegal a fine is sent to the owner. Parents and residents upload to the site.

Maybe this should be universal.

I rented a house on a side road by a school when I moved to the U.K. I told the school about some of the shenanigans going on at pick up and drop off, they would send a polite reply and it would get better for a week or two.
I bought a house away from the school because it got on my nerves so much.

I live near a school. The school is on a busy, narrow road. It’s double yellows the entire way, but all the parents ignore this. They park bumper to bumper on the double yellows. This makes the road even narrower, so there’s only space for one car to drive down the road at a time. Because the parents have all parked on the double yellows, you’ve got no pull in spaces.

You get so many standoffs.

I don't think the argument of "you bought a house near a school" stands with such inconsiderate behaviour. I would expect the street to be busy and a lot of parked cars but there is no excuse for parking on/over drives or illegally near the junction.

I think this is a greater symptom of entitlement that's cursing us recently and an increase in bad driving/lack of understanding the rules of the road.

When DD was in primary, I would only park off the main road (in someone's street) if I absolutely needed to. Otherwise I would walk further off the main road. I'm no shrinking violet but also don't look for a fight. The amount of times someone nearly crashed into me because they have no idea of their surroundings was madness. One day a guy who lived nearby but didn't have kids snapped. He got out of his car and shouted at someone. The teachers all ganged up on him and said not around the kids - fair but didn't say anything to the lady who I know caused issues every day with her lack of awareness.

While people have these bad attitudes, it won't improve and I'm sorry you have to go through this. Re parking on the drive, if it's the same offender I'd be invoking my own punishment but ensuring my own car couldn't be damaged in the process.

I'd be tempted to start a name and shame Facebook group called something like "XYZ School Parent Parking Wankers" and share photos of them.

I don't understand what it is about school run parents and bad driving. Is it just the sheer numbers that mean you inevitably get some wankers?

Even when a solution is offered you still get people behaving like idiots. My DC's primary school is next to a large council run car park. There's an agreement that parents can park there for half an hour for free at drop off / pick up. School provides a permit for people to park there.

We walk, but the quickest route takes us through the car park. The amount of near misses I've had walking through there is absolutely shocking. People drive at speed through the car park to get to the spots closest to the school entrance and then because so many are trying to get to those coveted spots, it causes gridlock through the rest of the car park. It's probably about a 200 metre walk if you had to park furthest away! Lazy bastards!

People reverse out of spots with no regard for what is behind them. They park over the lines taking up two spaces which causes even more congestion.

It's awful, and that's a clearly laid out car park. So I sympathise with people who have to ensure this shite on a residential street.

Kids come from the local town, out into the country to attend the village school? How come? Are there not enough families with children in the village itself?

(I'm not questioning the veracity of your story, just genuinely curious because I've never really heard of people who live in towns sending their kids to village schools).

Years ago (before I had a mobile phone) someone double parked opposite the school gates. The road was one way and narrow so his parking forced cars on to the pavement outside the school gates. I couldn't believe what he was doing so I spoke to him. His reply was 'it's raining' so I told him to buy an umbrella like everyone else. He then told we where to go so I said I would report him to the police, which I did - giving his reg. number. Later the police phoned me to say they had spoken to him and I never saw him doing it again.

One thing schools could do to help is be less strict about the age kids are allowed to walk on their own. Let parents make the decision based on the route and maturity of their child. This was perfectly fine and normal a generation ago and schools simply weren't designed to cope with large numbers of parents parking nearby or even the large numbers of adults standing around at drop off and pick up.

I feel your pain OP. We live about 100yds from a primary school and the parking is ridiculous. DH comes home from work at about school kicking out time and has learnt to go somewhere else before coming home as there is no way he can get into the drive. Parents are double parked, park leaving half the drive blocked and park in the drive on occasion. We've moaned to the school and nothing changes.

For a while the school offered a walking bus which met in town and a lot of kids would walk up to school but that seems to have stopped now. That did cut a bit of the traffic down.

Agree this literally sounds like my DCs school! We walk there, it’s only 5 mins, would take longer to drive and park and get out the junction. But the number I see from my estate who drive is bonkers.

We have cars mounting the pavement, blocking junctions, we had a bump between cars last week. We’ve had the police and PCSOs out, which only works when they’re there.

I know it’s incredibly stressful for parents doing the school run and getting to work but it’s just dangerous! They’d be better of doing breakfast club or parking a little further and walking.