AIBU to think school street restrictions and PCNs will cause more chaos?

[Whatabouttheparcels]

a council near me are introducing school streets to stop congestion outside schools which is a great idea. They are introducing permit parking great

what this means in reality is hundreds of houses aren’t allowed any deliveries, no taxis and no none essential building workers in the area every school workday between 8am and 9.30 and 2.30 and 3.45

A permanent career can get a pass but not random district nurses etc. imagine telling delivery firms they can’t deliver at these times or they will get a PCN. Anyone saying they should use lockers, my last delivery was a dishwasher

AIBU in thinking this is a stupid idea and school traffic will just park a bit further away and this will cause chaos?

https://www.salford.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/school-streets/frequently-asked-questions/

Clicky link or a photo (when approved) if people don’t want to click on the link

They can apply for exemption permits

And Swinton isn't close to the border of another borough

what this means in reality is hundreds of houses aren’t allowed any deliveries, no taxis and no none essential building workers in the area every school workday between 8am and 9.30 and 2.30 and 3.45

that is the reality of living near a school. I organise deliveries, workman etc to arrive before 8am or after 9:30 and same in the afternoon. I organise my life to leave my house before 8:15 or after 9:15 and similar in the afternoon

there are parents parked on the corner of the road, blocking the dropped crossing or any chance of getting round the corner safely. Then cars banked down two sides of pavement so only one person can squeeze past the car and not enough space for a double buggy - it’s comple carnage and very dangerous

at least if it was school street with permits it’d be safe for the children to walk

What is needed is enforcement of parking redtrictions, not merely driving down a road.

I work in a Community Nurse team that picks patients up from the floor much like the ambulance service do. We have to use our own cars but carry heavy lifting equipment as well as rucksack for obs kit - that would be a nightmare for us to be fair!

I’d be happy with bollards on the pavement to permanently prevent drivers, with parking or driving along the pavement

Yes indeed, all because of selfish drivers & their bad behaviour- the few make it difficult for so many people

I agree school streets just move the problem further away but sometimes to a road better suited to the congestion.

Anybody trying to get a taxi or a delivery at school drop off and kick out surely going to have problems anyway because it's so busy. I think people make this accommodation before they move next to a school. I feel bad for the homes who are now in the new drop off zone. They didn't sign up for this!

Interesting they are policing it via cameras and PCN. Money making for Salford Council. They dropped our school street (Trafford) as could not get volunteers to run it. I'm guessing they might do the same thing copying Salford.

I'm wondering if OP is a teacher at the school, from out of borough, and will now have to park a few streets away. The parking on our street is much easier now a school street has been introduced and the roads are no longer clogged with the cars of school staff all day.

All schools/councils should have a lroactive parking plan, taming into account actual behaviour not just what they think parents should do. For example, during a school dusco recently lots of parents parked in residents parking bays for 90 minutes in the evening... when the residents were returning home from work. Then got abusive when the residents just parked behind them. But parking there was "tolerated" for school pick up and drop off but it was safe, for 10 minutes and the residents were out.

No longer toletmrated.. they are now being actively stopped from parking there. Great example of being given an inche and taking a mile. (For clarity... private road, parking area owned by residents)

This is a school run in Manchester, firstly no running in involved and how do people think delivery drivers, emergency services, district nurses, residents get in or out?

I can't believe a lot of people think you're being unreasonable.

• The concerns about delivery are legit. The last delivery I had (furniture) was between 7-1 with no option to change/edit- Currys don't care about school exemption zones! They'll just turn up and log it as a failed delivery. You can try to leave a note, but it is a delivery window.

• Disabled/elderly people can apply for a pass, but their ad-hoc carers/community nurses can't. Also, applying for a pass is likely to be an online job- that in itself is likely to restrict those groups who are typically vulnerable.

• I don't think it's necessarily fair to the people who bought a house several streets away from a school!

• Most pupils will live within a mile. It's walkable for the majority. I understand there will be parents who work, but there will be plenty who don't, or work from home, or have a day off who could walk but will choose to drive because as a society we're lazy!

what is the catchment area for the school? if it is less than 1.5km there is surely no reason for the very largest majority to be walked to school.

Parents need to get to work. While a few may drive half a mile then home, for many its just a stop off.

This is often said but if a camera is making money it isn’t working as a deterrent.

There isn’t really much other choice - signs aren’t effective as in my experience there are always some motorists who ignore zigzags outside schools / no entry signs etc. It would also be too expensive / impractical to (wo)man the school street to enforce restrictions.

The big problem with saying it’s a money making scheme etc. is that it prevents motorists reflecting that a school street etc. is a natural consequence of their own behaviour in driving dangerously / anti socially. Where I live, my council are very reluctant to introduce road safety schemes and only do when the driving is really bad. This is absolutely not recognised outside of road safety groups, and you can see a cycle where some drivers are still complaining bitterly about a previous scheme yet there is poor driving elsewhere that heading towards reaching such a state that the council will a some point being forced to restrict access.

This is often said but if a camera is making money it isn’t working as a deterrent

totally agree with this

gates, bollards on pavement are imo much more of a deterrent and habit changer. Bollards in cast iron work, as people can see them identify it will cause damage and they won’t park fully on the road for fear of damage from another driver if they inconvenience them

school might be on the way to work, and some people might have to drive but school streets and LTNS do reduce habitual and mindless driving. there has been a distinct reduction in people in pyjamas driving to school on the road i live that’s for sure.

air quality and road safety have tangible impact on kids, and as a society we need to do as much as we can to reduce the negative impacts of car use on children and society as a whole.

kids need to do exercise. and a mile of running or walking each morning will build strength and the forming of healthy habits. it is also a good way for parents to achieve their steps.

Honestly it’s no big deal. You can put parking restrictions on most deliveries and Amazon/dhl/yodel etc quickly learn when they are.

I can’t park outside my house from 7-9:30am and 4-6:30pm as I’m on a bus route. You get used to it.

I live in one, it’s not a problem at all.
Firstly, delivery drivers know, so work around those times. Even if they don’t- most deliveries aren’t large items like a washing machine, so they just park outside the zone and carry the item in.
Not one of my neighbours has complained about it - the only people that complain are the parents that used to block our driveways!
It has also really helped those parents that do need to park close to school. One of my DCs friends parent had MS and she can now park in the disabled spaces outside of school. Previously drivers would idle in these spaces, and only move on the rare occasions a parking wardens would be around.

That could seriously damage house prices…

We live in a school streets area and it’s actually fine. It’s no cars driving into the area 8:30-9am and then 2:45-3:15pm. Tradesmen usually arrive before 8:30 and are parked. Deliveries still arrive. We have no problem with any of the couriers.

The problem I think it does create is parking on the other side of the school street area. Basically we are in the school street area, two schools are to south boundary of it and then there is a pedestrianised road that ends the zone. Parking on the other side of the pedestrianised road is chaos at pick up times. It makes me glad to live in the school street but must be a nightmare for the people on the other side.

The schools are quite unique in having very large catchments due to private schools in the area. I have actually never walked to the other side of the catchment as it would take an adult over 40 minutes (and it’s not very interesting!)

EDIT: to add, there is a hospital to the immediate east of the school zone. When my midwife was home visiting she parked there when she arrived during school street time.

I used to live on a school street and our sons primary school was on a school street, it was so so much better when it became a school street. With things like building work you just apply for a special permit, delivery drivers were always happy to park out the zone ans just walk the property, including things like washing machines etc as they have trolleys. You can just add the note to orders saying its a school street and the timings.

having a road that doesn’t have lots of visiting traffic and antisocial parking practises will be less valuable than one where every morning and afternoon is chaos with angry hurried parents trying to sling their kids from the car? yeah i can see that.

As someone who lives on a pedestrian street where the delivery people have no choice but to get out and walk I can assure you that they do. We’ve also had white goods delivered that they brought from further away on a trolley. It’s more a mild inconvenience than a disaster.

Whilst living between 2 schools has its drawbacks twice a day for around 2 hours. Having a school street isn’t going to affect saleability any more than currently

what I do love is the spring months and hearing the children playing outside and it’s a quiet area apart from 2 hours per day, so ideal location to live