To think driveway blockers are unreasonably disrespectful… (school parking rant)

[KcEliMa]

Firstly, I actually apologise in advance. I’m not necessarily on the correct thread, but this seemed the only choice for my topic.

I’m suspecting there will be some on the other side of my opinion who disagree/ argue against what I say (I am anticipating backlash - so I do beg for peeps to be kind please)

So! I’m one of those crazy, foolish people who live near a school who doesn’t have children attending said school.
Now, before people come at me for that (see, I already feel the need to defend and explain myself) when we moved here a few years ago, the school was minuscule. 20 pupils, if that, and hardly an issue at all. But then, a couple of years ago, the trust closed another local school and mixed the two together here, so we have a massive majority of children coming in from surrounding areas. The school have then expanded twice since with a crèche-type thing and a preschool.
I would guesstimate that at least 90% of the children are from further areas and that the school have easily quadrupled their intake. Plus, it’s very rural and there are zero public transport options.
For further context though, there is off-street parking available. A very large car park is available. It would literally take parents and children an extra 10, maybe 15 seconds to walk from said car park to the school gates.

Right, to my actual issue.
Parking!
Why do school parents believe it is their sacred right to park however and wherever they like?! I won’t get into how dangerous the road is being made by the absurd quality and levels of parking etc, but to my personal gripe - inconsiderate and disrespectful parking over driveways.

It’s a constant issue that no one wants to take responsibility for or deal with. There’s only around 12 houses outside the school but we’re all subservient to the parents who decide it’s perfectly reasonable to deny people access in and out of their properties.
What I’m completely and utterly baffled by further is, when you calmly and diplomatically try to reason/ ‘challenge’ these people (for want of a better word), they don’t own up to their inconsideration and move on, they want to stand and argue and get nasty.
I’ve given up to a degree, because it actually puts my family and home at risk just to ask people to move on.

BUT today I had one encounter that was completely baffling. I got called discriminatory names, told to STFU - and I didn’t even say a word. Yes, I walked to the end of my drive, I then stood inside my drive behind closed gates and just wanted to ask the person to move on - but the abuse I got! 😮 my husband is now annoyed with me because he thinks, with the calibre of person it was, they’ll want to play games now and repeatedly park outside and that we are at a level of vulnerability, with the people obviously knowing where we live but us not knowing them.

I guess I’m not really asking AIBU, I suppose my query is more Why Are These People So Unreasonable?!
And, is there anyone else out there in any kind of similar situation? I need people who understand the strain it puts on us who suffer! Please!

I love this kind of thing. To park on someone's actual drive is unreal in the arrogance.

You are definitely not being unreasonable.

I bought my house because it has a driveway and completely regret it. People seem to think that in front of a driveway is an invitation to park. It happens to me all the time and I don’t even live near a school. It drives me crazy and also makes me feel depressed about people’s lack of understanding and knowledge of parking rules.

Regardless of whether you chose to live next to a school, no one should be blocking your drive! Yanbu

If the head won't do anything but shrug then maybe it should be made a bit more of their problem.

We've got a number of local school street schemes. While they do help the people who live closest to the school, it doesn't reduce the number of parents who drive, but the problem just moves to the next road along. It really is a serious problem in many areas.

But it isnt their problem. They are a head TEACHER and lead learning for pupils. Not a traffic warden.

I very much feel your pain and I’m a mum who drives my DC to school. Difference is, I don’t park across or on driveways and equally don’t park on or across the corner of roads either.

I have come home from the school run to find a random parent and child sat in a car on my driveway! That made me change my opinion to no longer play nice. So, if I now can’t get onto my drive or even down the road (and the parking stupidity often starts two very short roads away), I just block the road until the problem driver sorts themselves out.

The problem is, it’s actually becoming dangerous now and there has been at least one accident. On

Monday I came home to find a big van (a parent) parked on the corner of the road. I had to drive on the wrong side of the road to go around it, couldn’t see around the corner as a result and when I did drive around it there were other parents walking in the road with their children! Then I found someone had parked across both my drive and my neighbours drive (all houses have dropped curbs here). i managed to get on my driveway but at an angle. The temptation to just abandon my car in the street though was immense. And, I have the whole thing on my dash cam - very tempted to send it to the school.

Get together with neighbours and put pressure on the school. Our old head used to be out in the road himself at drop off time to monitor this. I’m sure he had better things to do but it did solve the problem (for awhile).

Get all of your neighbours to contact your local councils parking team. They will generally be happy to attend and issue tickets. If they do not then pursue this with your local councillor to escalate on your behalf.

At the same time you should push this with you school. If that does not work does the school have a teachers car park that you can block in of an evening? After all it's a public highway as the school has said to you.

Yanbu at all. The problem is, the people who happily block people's drives will likely not respond to any form of letter/email from the school, complaining from home owners...they are so selfish and entitled they do not care.

I feel like the only thing you can do is inconvenience them.

I'd either block my own drive with my car so they cannot block me in, or come up with a way of blocking them in when they were parked there.

I honestly dont think anything else would deter people like this.

My DH has said he'll do this should someone block our drive when he wants to get in.

If there are only 12 houses there, then someone from school needs to get outside at drop off/pick up and stop this from happening. If that's the head teacher, then so be it. The presence of the school is causing this problem - even though it's parents that are doing the parking. The school do need to take some ownership of the problem.

Is the large car park full/dangerous? Our school had a carpark - no bays were marked so people drove at random. It was dangerous.

Unfortunately there really is nothing that schools can do that will make a difference. As I said in a previous post, staff have been assaulted at a school I work with and headteachers are threatened when they try to stop people parking like this. I think the only thing that will help OP and the other houses affected us to encourage the council to introduce a school street scheme. But that just displaces the problem elsewhere.

@KcEliMa

You shouldn’t feel that you have to explain. You have every right to get frustrated that someone has blocked your drive.

As others have said, I would talk to the headteacher. We have a head teacher who is horrified at the danger that parents ignore by parking across people’s driveways (here is also involves some parking wheel up so partially blocking the footpath too). The headteacher spent afternoons and mornings observing what was happening in the streets around the school and called the traffic wardens in herself.

What she also asked was that any neighbour who had people parking across driveways (which also included double yellow lines) take a photo of the car and the school published the photos in the newsletter. This worked for some parents but not others.

A week of a traffic warden visiting has temporarily fixed the issue. But it will start again as it always does. But the headteacher is excellent about this. Because the cars illegally parking make visibility around the school gate much reduced and the risk to the students is high. The school is keen to get parents to park legally and to walk where possible.

You should discuss with your neighbours whether they are impacted or not. And you can contact your councillor too.

But the traffic wardens should come
and issue infringements. Call your parking department in the council to check your bylaws.

Repeated traffic infringements work.

I live on the same road as a school. We have a dropped kerb and double yellow lines and still have the driveway blocked most days. The road is chaos at school run time, people parking anywhere and everywhere, right by the crossing and on pavements etc. It doesn't actually inconvenience me but the sheer thoughtlessness/selfishness really bothers me!

Like the OP, I have watched neighbours being told off for asking people to not park across the dropped kerbs.

I could have written this myself