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 😕

Our school regularly issues updates about parking in the newsletter reminding parents to park considerately and not to park across drives.

Thankfully I walk DD to school and home afterwards, but seeing all these 4 wheel drives circling for a space is ridiculous. I know parents work, but surely they could park a couple of streets over.

If it is a repeated offender, get their number plate and report them to Operation Crackdown.

I live in a very similar school/residential street set up. There are 3 schools in my village, clustered together across the road from the top of my street. I was regularly blocked into/off my driveway, traffic chaos at 8.30 and 3pm. I initially contacted the schools and the police, but what made the biggest difference was campaigning the local authority for residents parking. This was about 15 years ago. They don't police it very often now though. The kids in the street are now beginning to drive though, so the illegal parking is now mostly down to residents!

But what I'm trying to say, is enquire about residents parking with your local authority.

Where I live a young child was killed on school run outside a school a a few years back and that still didn't change habits.

It isn't helped by things like the fact our catchment school is our 4th nearest and I have to get from drop off to work. Even 20 years ago, it was much more normal to have a SAHM who didn't have to rush off and able to walk by choice

My prize gripe is that we are at the end of a cul de sac with a path leading to school - there is a turning area at the end of the street which is not parking. Parents don't care, park there and it makes it impossible for anyone else to turn.

Can you not understand that people live too far away to walk? It’s a 45 min walk to take my DC to school, I don’t have time and the little one couldn’t walk that far anyway. Then I need to be in a car in order to carry on to work.

Can you not understand that people live too far away to walk?

If it were ONLY the people who did genuinely live too far to walk, it wouldn't be an issue. It's all the people who do live too far to walk, plus the rest of the parents who are too lazy or too entitled to walk, and who park like dicks.

We walked 40 minutes each way from when DS was in reception. Obviously if you need to go to work after in the car then you have no choice but 45 minutes isn't far, people have just become lazy.

I said this would come up when I posted earlier.

1. You are right people shouldn't park illegally or inconsiderately and people are right to complain.
2. I've lived here for 30 years, the school was one form entry so 210 kids with majority walking to school as it was a small catchment area. Now it is 3 form entry plus a nursery so well over 650 kids, majority seem to be driven to school as it is a much bigger catchment area. I didn't have a crystal ball 30 years ago, I didn't know how big the school was going to get, I didn't know how big the catchment area was going to be and I didn't know how rude and entitled parents would become in 30 years so I will complain as much as I like.

I live on a street with a primary. It's oversubscribed so everyone does live within walking distance. The council's solution to traffic issues was to put cameras either end of the block and it's £65 fine (£130 if not paid promptly) if anyone even drives down during drop off and pick up. So you better believe no one does. Residents of the block are exempt.
Keep complaining to the council and the school, get your neighbours involved..

We have secondary, primary and nursery near our road, not even on it. There's an alleyway the students walk through between where the school is and our road. Our road is like a carpark for half an hour at the end of the school day. People park on the grass, on the pathways, double park the layby and so on.
If we need to get in or out we ask and people move. It's not their fault the schools have students from wide catchment areas and that the school bus system is poor.
The schools take no responsibility for anything off site.

Because when we bought the house 30 odd years ago, it was a lower school, from Year's 1 to 4. The vast majority of children were walked to school.

Since then, the school has added a 4+ unit, wraparound care, and has become an academy, with pupils now from nursery to Year 6. And far more parents are driving their children to school. And seemingly just abandoning their cars wherever they see fit.

The school sends out regular emails to parents reminding them to park considerately, which I assume are written in sandskrit, as they make no difference.

This photo is typical of the kind of crap driving/parking that occurs on a daily basis. But apparently, its OK, because they're only going to be a few minutes. End of my drive. Not my car.

And don't get me started on how impossible it is for ambulances or fire engines to get up the road.

You must have had a very cushy life if you could spare nearly an hour and a half every day just to walk your DC to school then walk home. Three hours if you include the return journey! I don’t even have time to eat lunch never mind spend 3hrs walking.

Same here. Parking on your drive is illegal. Next time call the police
Complain to the school, the council and the police. The HY of the school here gave me the nber for the PCSOs.
If you can get any of your neighbours to complain as well it helps. Our road is a cul de sac, it's impossible to get in and out sometimes.

I don't live near a school but my local area FB group includes the street of a school and oh my days, the photos that get posted showing what parents do...

The worst is that there are elderly residents with drop curbs so that their access is never obstructed - of course the parents ignore that and park over or across them. Last week an ambulance couldn't get down the road to the property and the parent was nowhere to be found. I can only imagine what it feels like knowing that your parent lives on a street where that could happen to them.

Parents make a massive fuss about others using P&C spaces and the rudeness/entitlement etc., and then behave like this with other people's property. It's just pure hypocrisy.

Lumiodes, a 45 min walk is a 16 min bike ride, could that be an option

Contact the school if people are blocking/parking on drive, in fact contact the police as it's illegal. But yeah everyone is trying to get their kids to school!

Sometimes I drop my child at secondary school and I’m always gobsmacked at the dangerous and disrespectful and selfish driving of some of the parents. Huge vehicles doing three point turns and blocking the road. Parking on yellow zigzags. Blocking driveways.

Report to school and police with vehicle reg if possible. Also contact your local authority and ask for a traffic warden (it does help, it did at my local primary school).

Parking on your drive is next-level CF.
I knew someone who printed out warnings and put them under the windscreen wipers (“you are parked on private property and have been reported to the police”). Another way to do it is leave YOUR car parked on the street and then if someone parks on your drive you go out and pull your car across your drive and block them in. Let them sweat when they realise they are trapped on your private property.

Not really, I'm a lone working parent. Would leave the house at 7.40 to get to school and then walk to work. Same again in the evening, getting home at 6.30. Never owned a car. It's just life.

This very car-centric society assumes everyone owns a car

Same OP. We live in a cul-de-sac at the back entrance to a primary school. Yes we knew it was there when we bought the house and expected it to be busy at school drop off and pick up. I'm usually at work anyway but on my day off I have witnessed very dangerous driving and parking. There are zigzags and double yellows on the corner but people disregard these, one woman always parks completely on the path and the driveways are all blocked. When it rains, it is horrendous. Someone WILL get run over one day.

Anyone doing 3 point turns near a school is a lazy idiot, just Park further away and walk, or better yet, don't drive

Our school has awful parking too! People just seem too lazy to walk an extra minute!

I walk most days but if I drive I park sensibly about 2 minutes walk away. Still saves me half an hour than if I walked from home but I don't break any laws or annoy anybody (well I might because people tend to dislike people parking outside their house legally)

There is a lot of parking on pavements or on double yellows rather than parking on or across drives because its the closest to school without parking in the actual playground which they would if they could!

Also the school kicks out at 315pm and people start parking from 2pm to get the best spots!! It always amazes me. At least these cars are parked legally of course but who has the time for that??

I worked in a school that turned from 1 to 3 form entry and main gate was on a quiet residential street. The end of the road was the main school gate so parents would have to U turn to get out. It was a NIGHTMARE. I remember ordering a no U turns sign as they were putting kids lives in danger. There was lots of them scooting to school and it was a wealthy area with lots of 4x4 type of cars. Not to mention the delivery drivers ignoring instructions and coming down thus tiny road, blocking the front of the gate. Anyway I had to write up the health and safety report where I list things we've tried. In there I wrote that the sign was driven over within 10mins of being put there.

I don’t know what it is about school drop off that turns adults in to feral rude animals.

Take photos for evidence and contact the school, police and council. They can start sending parking wardens during key hours.