To ask if you have ever solved parking on zig-zag lines issues at your school?

[JacquesHarlow]

I am genuinely trying to understand why there is so much disregard from drivers for our school markings (zig zag lines asking to "keep clear"). The disregard for the lines happens during drop-off and pick up on the school run, when the council have placed a sign above the lines explicitly stating that they should be kept clear at these times.

In the last month I have seen

• Someone swoop in over the markings while indicating left. Then sitting there with the engine running for 3 mins, still indicating left (why?!) while they hoped the space in front of the zig zags would be vacated. When it wasn't, they then offloaded their offspring on the zig zags

• A dad drop off his son in a sports car. Then sit bang slap in the middle of the zig zags while rolling a cigarette. When challenged by another mother, he said coldly .. "I'm rolling my cigarette"..completely oblivious of the outrage of those who had asked him to clear the markings so people could safely cross.

• A mother who regularly parks directly opposite the markings, mounted up on the kerb. It then funnels everyone's cars to drive into the zig zags in order to get round them. When challenged, usual haughtiness and arrogance. Couldn't see how this was causing any danger.

Last month we had a parking attendant out from the council .You can imagine what happened... all these people just melted away for a day, and then reappeared the next day.

So I have two real questions:

1. AIBU to even care about this? Are zig-zags a thing of the past? Surely people do care about the ability to cross safely without having to peer around cars that want VIP parking?
2. Have you had this problem before and how did your school solve it in the end?

Fully expect to be called U, but if so, can anyone explain then why I am unreasonable please?

Thanks in advance.

No idea but our council is turning most streets with schools in to school streets and that brings about a different level of pain to all concerned.

Our school solved it by the head or deputy head coming out to the zig zags at the end of school every day for a month to wave goodbye to the kids as they were leaving. Then since then, they come out at random on random days so people never know if they'll be there or not. If anyone does park on the zig zags and they see it, they're both quite upfront about telling them to move! I still see people doing it occasionally in the very early morning sometimes to drop off for breakfast club but not at peak times, so it's worked for the majority of people.

I live near a secondary school and the parents are absolute idiots.

They park on zig zags, yellow lines, across people's drives. No one does anything, although once or twice the traffic wardens have done a blitz, which was fun to watch

Our council put up pedestrian guardrails along the length of the zig zags to make stopping and dropping off pointless.

Has meant that pedestrians now cannot cross apart from at the gap right in front of the school gates.

But overall an improvement.

I’d be interested to hear of anywhere that have solved it and how. Our nearest school introduced a scheme where you could video cars parked on the zigzags and upload via a qr code on the school gates and the council/ police would take action. If it’s had any effect I don’t know what it was. The only thing that works, like OP said, is the couple of times a year when the police/ traffic wardens turn up. People really don’t seem to care and , certainly where we are, the parking can make it quite difficult for the kids to get into school

The same at the school near us. The headteacher stands there like a lemon chatting with parents, while I try and get out of our road at the small T junction where the school is. Of course cars are parked well within the 5 metres on either side of the streets too.

Keep on at the council so they attend more often. Email your local police force to have the local community officers attend. Take picture and email the school asking them to send out a letter/email to parents. Take pictures and post on the school or local area community pages on social media
I live right next to a school and the parking is so bad I’m surprised a child hasn’t been injured or worse. And I can bet the people that park like idiots would be the first to complain if their child was involved in an accident

Our school used to be opposite the police station (before it moved) and even that didn't stop them. We'd have the police round for a week doing a purge but as soon as that was over back they came.
Members of staff were told to mention it to anyone they saw parking there but most got a mouthful of abuse.

So, in short there was nothing we could do. We do live in an area where parents are very much "Nobody will tell me what to do" attitude.

We get the same at DC’s primary school. Most parents park away from them, but there’s definitely a few who persistently stop on the zig zags, double yellow lines, on corners or across driveways and side roads (so totally blocking the road).

Occasionally traffic wardens appear and the bad parkers behave themselves for a few days, but it doesn’t take them long to start it all up again.

OMG the school my grandchildren go to is terrible. There's points when you can't even see the zig zags for the sheer amount of cars parked on them. It's a 30 mph road too - and a bus route.

At school pick up the traffic gets gridlocked and someone is going to get hurt.

I have started a one woman campaign to try to stop it - but to no avail. Mostly I'm just told to F Off.

I saw in the last week the school have started to put cones out - some of the parents have already squashed the cones by parking over them! :O

DD’s school had a thing where various Year 6 pupils volunteered on a rolling programme went out in hi viz with one of the school office staff a few minutes before the bell went to ask parents to move and they didn’t even move for the kids!
Police purges, reminders in school and local newsletters, SLT out on the lines, none of this has ever worked consistently. Lots of parents are just entitled arseholes.

I used to live opposite a school and twice came home (from my own school) to find someone parked on my drive (different people both times)! They got a tirade of abuse and shifted quickly.

We have tried all sorts. We have had traffic wardens out issuing tickets - parents then seem to think it's our fault and try to get us to pay the fine (!) headteacher and chair of governors have spoken to parents - parents nod and drive away but return the next day. Travel ambassadors (usually the older children) have spoken to parents accompanied by an adult, to explain the dangers of parking there as well as the environmental impact of idling outside a school - drivers all claim to have a good reason why the rules don't apply to them or are abusive to them. We regularly remind parents via our newsletters and website. This is all despite having several children involved in thankfully, minor accidents outside school over the past few years. We are now in a position where our only real option is to be in the School Streets scheme , which is a pain but hopefully will prevent any further accidents involving our pupils.

3 kids. Youngest 17, never parked on a zig zag. Get up earlier and walk, or park 5 mins away and walk. No excuse for it.

They should get points because that's what Hurt's

You can't drive down the school road at pick up & drop off times which I like. Doesn't stop parents parking over other people's drives on other roads though but a warden does come and ticket and a few weeks of bad behaviour.

Cameras and fines would stop them.

Cameras and fines would stop them.

The country needs money, it would be easy money.

I suggest that there's a major issue about traffic enforcement of which this is just a symptom

It's a pity that there is no fit and proper test for holding a driving license so if you act like a twat bye bye licence

No one parks on the zig zags at our school. There’s a drop off point though. School buses stop there, gate is manned. My kids normally get the bus but if I drop off you justvv bc stop for ten seconds, kids leap out and off to work I go. Zig zags ard where the school buses park to take the dc home again.

I live opposite a school in a London borough. We have cameras which stops this.

Its probably the same at every school. Mine is in a small village with parking in the square, a big carport 5 mins walk away and street parking on the hill directly outside the school. However due to the street parking you can only drive one car at a time down the hill (cars coming the other way have to reverse) but parents still block the hill by stopping directly outside the school office completely blocking the road for a few minutes while they run their kids in. Other parents probably get pissed off waiting behind them but say nothing. However I've witnessed men in vans having a go at these mums when they have been blocked by them which has been entertaining

Our school groundskeeper has to put cones up during drop off and pick up times and literally patrols the area. But they have just migrated and now block off a residential road and a care home entrance.

Nope, zig zags, double yellows, across drop curb crossing points, never solved.

I did school runs at the same primary for a decade, so saw different parents come and go and when one parent leaves that school, the new reception parent takes their place.

I used to take photos and constantly send to the council to no avail. They agreed to send a warden one time, and sent them at HALF TERM!!!

Honestly, I gave up. I cannot fathom parents who dont care a jot about the safety of the kids. As opposed to just wanting their kids dropped off close to the gate.

I cant believe people have audacity to park on other people's drives!

I worked at a school where they put photos and number plates of offenders in the school newsletter. Name and shame approach. They also had the traffic enforcement officers out as often as possible. The headteacher would stand and remind people they couldn't park there. They'd put cones there. At one point they had year six standing there handing out leaflets about road safety.

It did cut it down, but unfortunately some people are cunts and nothing will get through to them.