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

I live in a school street and it’s fine, people just get on with it.
They are needed because people park and drive like dickheads.

Only if they drive through the cameras. Large items and supermarkets can be scheduled and Amazon can walk.

Relatives of mine live in an area where there is restrictions like this for a few schools around them. It’s been a problem for them and many neighbours. Deliveries can’t always been timed exactly and a few drivers have refused to deliver. Relatives/friends calling can’t just pop in.
A couple of residents down one of these roads have also put on the local pages that they have their houses up for sale and people are put off by the restrictions and having to pay for permits.
Roads that are close to the school but just outside the restricted roads are now having the same problem with extra cars parked/traffic so all it’s done is push the problem out further.

I do agree that some parents/carers park and drive terribly around schools but this still hasn’t made the area any safer all it’s done is line the councils pockets with the pcns that have been issued and the permits that now have to be paid for by residents. If the councils really cared about children’s safety then they would find another solution.

So many classic MNers on here that don't bother reading the OP but take umbrage anyway.

Obviously measures to keep children safe are great, as OP specifically said, but there are ways to do it without impacting the local residents so much.

This is absolutely crazy, it will affect disabled or older people the most who rely on deliveries and need district nurses/GP visits. And for those saying to schedule deliveries outside of these times i really would love to know where you're ordering from that will allow you to choose specific time slots. Trades will also be impossible to find or will charge double the price because they can't do a full days work.

OP do you live here? If so you have my sympathy, I'd recommend getting in touch with your local councillors to see if they can support an appeal.

Delivery drivers definitely don’t walk it believe me, relatives live in an area where there are these restrictions and all they do is take the delivery item back with them.
Can understand why they don’t walk it as some of these roads are very long with hundreds of houses they don’t have time to walk 10 minutes or more up the road and then 10 minutes back to their vechicle.

No it won’t. It will help residents leave their houses and return during previously busy periods.

Are you really sure it isn’t safer outside the school at drop off and pick up? On what basis do you think having fewer cars driving about is no better

Someone above knows the road. It’ll take about a minute to walk.

Lots of people live on streets with no driveways and on street parking, meaning it can be hard to park close by. Do you think delivery drivers refuse to walk there too?

I actually know of one road where delivery drivers refuse to deliver at all. Not just one company but every single company because of where the road is situated.
The roads where it is hard to park I have seen drivers pull in the middle of the road jump out and drop the parcel off and jump back in that’s very different to having to find somewhere to park then walk up a long road and back again. They don’t have the time for it. As I said previously the roads I am talking about where this is in place are very long roads that could easily take 10 minutes or more depending on where the house is in the road to walk and then back again. Driver don’t want to do it.

the issue is the main road outside the school zone is already a busy road at these times. It’s a cut through to the A580 and has another bigger school directly opposite on the road that already causes problems at drop off

I'm not saying there shouldn’t be parking restrictions around schools but this just seems such an unreasonable ask for district nurses, carers, taxis, delivery drivers and all

im lucky if my deliveries make it in the house they just tend to do knock a door run. For these hundreds of houses they ain’t going to carry them all to the doors

the houses could now get Saturday deliveries from Amazon but that’s not the main issue. I believe it’s a badly thought out idea by the council that will impact the day to day needs and medical support for people in the zone

It's two short very windows of time throughout 39 weeks of the year or something. Things will adapt around it eventually.

Unless more upstream restrictions start being allowed to come into force (which they probably never will, because so many people would rail against restrictions on ownership and/or general use of private vehicles), this is the kind of thing that people will need to adapt to.

But you still haven't explained how you think an emergency vehicle, like a fire engine or ambulance, could reasonably access those houses already impacted.

Yeah, OK, maybe its rubbish for delivery drivers or nurses, and maybe you can, as an affected resident, raise that query via the very easy to fine email address on the faqs. But the inconvenience to any of those people is far outweighed by the absolute necessity for emergency vehicle access. As it stands, those vital minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

A traffic warden randomly twice at week for a prolonged period at these times would likely solve the problem without impacting residents. Or a camera monitoring bad parking and ticketing (do these exist?).

but if after a while parents respond to the restrictions by adjusting their behaviour and not driving to school - set up walking buses with other parents if they can’t walk every day for example- then the roads around you will be calmer, quieter, school runs create so much traffic, but so many school journeys could be avoided if people adjusted their habits .

Although you can obviously schedule supermarket deliveries at a particular time, I did not realise you can schedule Amazon and other stores for a certain time, or in this case not between certain times. I live in a very rural place and so have numerous deliveries every week but had no idea you could specify a time. Can I ask how you do that please as it would be useful to know.

Yes! It's so disheartening and concerning when people can't see beyond what is currently the status quo.

I live about 4 roads away from a “school street “. It absolutely infuriates me because I purposely chose not to live in a road with a school. I live some distance away, in about another (very big) 4 or 5 roads away. And yet now , all that “school street” has done is push all the “school mums” out to existing roads. The people who bought their house in school street, knew full well well that was the deal when they bought it. As far as I was concerned, I was well away from the school….but now!!! With regard to deliveries etc, I’m not sure what you do. I always presumed the “school street “ near me still allowed for residents to receive parcels, deliveries, visitors (with permits?)…..maybe not then. There must be a way round it? Or I guess the deliveries and visitors have to park further away and walk round to you?

Had a John Lewis delivery this week. I absolutely could schedule it and could also give them relevant information such as need for parking permits. Had it been relevant I could have told them about access restrictions.

Amazon etc can walk a minute or two. Or will learn the restrictions and adapt accordingly

For many furniture delivery companies they will only phone you on the day and say morning or afternoon.

It's the modern way. Roads maintained at public expense are no longer actually public amenities.

Or timed delivery

Ludicrous. The vast majority of couriers do not allow you to select a time so unless you only buy things using timed delivery which is expensive and only available for limited purchases, you’re pretty screwed … I’d be up in arms if they tried this. I get why they think it’s a good idea to implement school streets but they can’t limit the people who live on those streets. Some parents will also be collecting children at that time from other schools further away.

Apart from the usual ignoramuses who think rules don't apply to them it's worked really well where I am. Delivery drivers etc are exempt, though. The key difference is the the roads are far safer for everyone, including children walking home by themselves.

It's two short very windows of time throughout 39 weeks of the year or something.

School dropoffs are much shorter windows of time. Widening the time and area of inconvenience under the pretence of solving a perceived problem (which is greatly amplified by imaginings - an ambulance might not get through, a child might be injured etc) is nutso.

This simplistic attitude really frustrates me. The people who make the roads unsafe in our area are primarily the school parents who park all over the crossings, turn around dangerously and park over pavements.

I don't think it's ok to restrict essential things like deliveries, house repairs are care visits.

I don't own a car myself.