to think I should be able to park near the school?

[zagazig]

Got a call from the school. DD had vomited so they asked me to come and pick her up. Got there about 2.30pm and had to park several streets away because so many parents had already taken the prime parkin spaces. Many of them were in their cars already with some younger children in the bank. Also quite a few with their engines idling to keep the AC on as it is warm.

Are parents really parking up an hour before to get the best nearest spaces? I had to walk poor DD several streets away to get her to the car. I normally walk her to school and walk back but I took the car as I was coming from work and she was unwell.

Lots of areas are still catchment based. Our catchment school was our 5th nearest and not walkable.

I park early. It’s easier to park up and continue what I’m doing in a good space than rush to park later

I see this a lot too, everyone trying to park as close as possible even if it means parking like an idiot and causing chaos for everyone else.

We mostly walk to school but sometimes I drive for various reasons. I try to park as close as possible within reason so I don't block drives, don't park on double yellows and don't double park opposite another car. It means walking for an extra minute, that's literally all it is, it's madness how people will cause problems just so they can avoid that tiny walk.

I'm almost never that early either, there is the odd occasion I've been out somewhere and made it back with time to spare so I'll park somewhere and wait because I don't have time to go home and do anything productive.

I wouldn't leave my house on my day off earlier than I needed to just to sit in the car for half an hour and I doubt many would.

On the rare occasions I am really early I will get one of the closer spots, park and enjoy a sit down for a bit. Life is so hectic sometimes that it's nice to just take a break before the next lot of chaos begins!!

I do this altough in my case doesn’t affect anyone as our very tinny school is only 20 students . I do it because my youngest nursery finishes 1 hour before school it’s 25 miles away and school is a further 16 miles so can’t go back

It doesn't tend to happen in our primary school. We're in London and there's a tube station five mins walk away, an Overground station 8 mins walk and there's also a private coach drop-off. The council have put in a School Street so parents can't park on the street that the school is on, for an hour in the morning and afternoon. A handful of parents drive and park on adjacent streets, but not many.

We live a 5 min walk away as it was important for us to have a simple short commute.

I used to be an early parker. One day a week I'd pick up DC in the car cos one had a club after school we had to drive to. I am a very nervous driver so would get there early to make sure I could park at the end of a row of spaces. I didn't care if it was a couple of streets away as long as it was easy to park by and easy to get back out.
It was never about "the best spot" TBH I wouldn't have been driving at all if there was another option but because I had to I made it as easy as I could for myself.

They are annoying but could you not go in the school car park in these circumstances?

We allow parents of sick children to pick up from the car park (for the child’s sake more than the parents convenience). But yes parents arrive ridiculously early to get a parking space.

I think I’d suddenly be needing to go out every day at that time if it was me…pure coincidence of course

I live next to a primary school but work and have only ever worked in secondary so I didn't really get this parking thing until recently.
My road is one way and the council agreed to do that pedestrian only thing during pick up and drop off. And OMG I am now totally converted to this.
The little kids walk or cycle, or my favourite , scoot down the middle of the road. They look so happy and some of the parents join them. I watched a tiny little girl couldn't have been older than 5 scoot downhill at breakneck speed. Her very young very athletic dad sprinted after her, he was in running gear, both of them clearly having fun. This was before 9am on a Thursday.
It's so safe and relaxed. I really want more roads closed now so more people can feel that freedom. And it is so good for the kids to be able to exercise safely and take risks.
I'm not anti car by any means I just want us to share the roads and inject some fun and joy into our everyday lives.

Why do you allow it? They would not do it on mine. They would have a real fight on their hands. They are doing what you allow.
Also just for good measure I would park my car in such a position that they would not get on the driveway.

We're lucky in that there is a council car park by the school and parents are given permits to park there at drop off / pick up times.

However, I walk in, and have to walk through the car park and it is absolute carnage with parents desperately trying to get the spots nearest the school. The car park is maybe a couple of 100 metres long at the most, and yet some parents feel they really must be closest to the gate. Completely bonkers!

Oh, and it's a small town. There will be some kids coming from rural locations but the vast majority would be able to walk there. It's pure laziness.

They actually park on your drive?

They'd get an earful from me if they did that.

Are you a model? In magazine layouts? Walked the runways? LA? NYC? London? Paris? Milan?
lol

I’m another one that finishes work and heads straight to school often getting there 30 minutes early, but to go home would make me late.
I used to nip into the local supermarket so I wasn’t as early but I just end up spending money that way :(

Yes at our school parents go up to an hour early to park and work from the car, etc

I live down a road where the back gate backs onto a school. Parents arrive up to 45 minutes early to pick up their kids. What makes it even more ridiculous is there is a car park with over 100 spaces that they are allowed to park in about 200 meters away but god forbid they have to walk a bit further 🙄. They also ignore the parking restrictions. No wonder we are one of the most unhealthiest nations as most, if not all of these parents could park at home and walk due to the catchment area of the school. It infuriates me so much, I sometimes move my car so they can’t park in ‘their’ space 😂. Petty, but I like watching them curse from my window when they can’t park 🫢🤣.

I completely understand the on your way home from work /school /nursery awkward timing. I’ve a feeling they aren’t ALL doing that though

It’s the idling though, what is that about? No recognition it’s adding to the fact it’s hot.

My LA has School Streets outside many of the primary schools and unless you live in a house on the road, you cannot drive into the road during term time Mon to Fri between roughly 8.15 to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 4pm (actual hours vary) or you get a fine.

But surely cones won't apply to Moi, surely cones are for the little people!

I got a call from my daughter to pick grandson up as she'd had a work problem. As there were numerous end of financial years road works in a couple of villages I needed to go through I left very early, sods law the road works had finished and I arrived about 40 minutes, parked about 20 m back from a main road in the first unrestricted space, by 5 minutes before chucking out there were cars up to the main road on both sides and on the main road, it was an eye opener, not being a veteran of school runs.

Not as early as an hour but I aim to get there about 20 minutes before bell. But the reason is my child has a disability that means she can't manage a further walk after a day at school. There are no blue badge spaces and taking her wheelchair out would have other issues.

Im a bit of a fattie but an active one.

This is an odd comment. If you live rurally your nearest school is very likely to be far enough away to have to drive to or not safe to walk to. Or if you want to go to your nearest faith school or Welsh language school (in wales), it’s not going to be right on your doorstep in most cases.

in my daughters school we can walk as it happens now we’ve moved house but I have noticed parents parking for up to an hour to get the best spots! The thing is there are loads of spaces further up the road, literally an extra 0.2 of a mile or something so there’s no need at all to get there so early.

if our kids are sick, we’re allowed to park in staff car park to collect them. I think schools should allow this as it’s not like you’re staying there for hours and it’s an emergency.

For me walking actually could amount to this with my little guy as there are lots of parking restrictions so either you park close or really far. Id rather park early and go shopping for last minute things we need, pick kid and drive off quickly.

Our school would let u use the car park for that