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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

What can I do about this? (or should I keep out of it?)

26 replies

MrsSnape · 16/01/2009 10:23

Our school is a very large primary with a long, narrow driveway which runs off the main road, down the side of the school (where year 1 and 2 are), right around the back along the school field (where the older kids line up and go in) all the way around to the other side of the school where the very large car park is situated.

However, because some parents are too bone idle to walk from the car park to the playground, they park all along the driveway (double yellow lines) every morning and every night. This causes massive jams, it's a danger to kids who are trying to cross the driveway and it would prevent emergency vehicles getting to the school.

Every few weeks we get a letter home asking people NOT to park on the driveway because of all of these reasons yet the parents just take no notice and ignore it completely. The school has tried having a police officer stood there telling people to move along when they park on the drive and it works until the police officer leaves and then they all flock back.

It INFURIATES me. If the bloody parents can't even follow simple rules, what hope is there for the kids???

Anyway this morning I was trying to get DS into school and there were cars parked all along one side of the drive, taxi's parked up the other side and I couldn't even get the car through (smallish car) so god knows what a fire engine would have done.

Is there ANYTHING that can be done?

OP posts:

cory · 16/01/2009 10:26

I know what you mean; infuriates me too. And absolute murder if you're trying to get a wheelchair through. Seems the school are trying, but hard to know what they can do more than they are doing.

kitbit · 16/01/2009 10:37

What about asking the school to put up signs saying "random clamping and towing will happen if you park here"?
Or put up bollards that stop parking but leave enough room for a vehicle to pass?
Can the council help?

coolma · 16/01/2009 12:03

Oh for goodness sake, this happens everywhere! I get furious, and have started to, very ostentatiously, write down the number plates of the people who do it every f-ing day outside my sons school! They just sit in their stupid cars looking vacantly at me. Another good ploy is to just very carefully bump the wing mirrors as you drive past.

Makes me so mad!!!

laweaselmys · 16/01/2009 12:09

bollards that restrict the size of the road (ie just large enough to let fire trucks etc through) but leave pavement on either side that pedestrians/buggies/wheelchairs can use are a good idea. The cars physically can't park on the road without blocking everything and can't go up onto the pavement either.

Depends really though if it's worth the money from your schools PoV.

mckenzie · 16/01/2009 12:09

Conatct your local newspaper and ask them to do a piece on it. They can take photos of the culprits and print them in the paper. Name and shame might work. Possibly.

weblette · 16/01/2009 12:11

If it's double yellows they can be ticketed. Might prove an incentive for them to move or the school could try the pester power route of making the dcs aware of why not to park there.

piratecat · 16/01/2009 12:12

good idea re newspaper.

the last few weeks at dd's school have been the same. People parked on the zigzags, just blocking the way for any cars to get thru. Head sends out letters but it makes no difference.

ihatethecold · 16/01/2009 12:22

our headteacher stands at the bottom of the drive witha clipboard for a few day in the morning school run. nobody would embarass themselves by parking where they shouldnt ..

ihatethecold · 16/01/2009 12:22

our headteacher stands at the bottom of the drive witha clipboard for a few day in the morning school run. nobody would embarass themselves by parking where they shouldnt ..

wingandprayer · 16/01/2009 12:27

If the double yellow lines are on the school property they can be ticketed/clamped by the school and the money could go to the PTA. A stronger worded letter to this effect could go out to parents and a "name and shame" monthly newsletter thereafter. The school is not really doing everything it could if all they do is take action for short bursts is it? They need more pressue putting on them and by linking it to PTA fundraising they may be a bit more interested in fixing it long term.

tengreenbottles · 16/01/2009 12:34

you could always do something highly innapropraite like set the fire alarm off before the children start school ,while all the parents are blocking the drive and wait for the firemen to turn up and b*llock them

MadMarg · 16/01/2009 12:49

The council has the ability to post wardens there. Some council's do it surrepticiously, the Warden just stands to the side and records the number plate into a voice recorder (and may take photographs) and then a fine is sent to the car owner. That way the parents have no notice of the warden being there. If feels a bit underhand, but it seems to be the only thing that stops these stupid people parking in such an irresponsible manner. If this is done a few times, this might help!

Take a few photos yourself, and contact the council with them and see if they will post a warden there a few times.

dearprudence · 16/01/2009 12:54

I have heard of headteachers taking note of who is parking and posting an individual letter to each of the parents concerned. I think this would have more effect than a blanket letter home with the children.

At our school they did a lot with the children to stop parents parking on zig-zags and they've trained the children to tell parents off if they see them doing it!

Was never a big problem though TBH - just one or two regular offenders.

bluebump · 16/01/2009 12:54

The only thing that worked when I lived in the same road as a primary school AND the local fire station was when there was an actual need for a fire engine to go through the road and it literally didn't stop and go through carefully it just ploughed on through and took off loads of wing mirrors! It served them right as they had been asked not to park there on many an occassion!

PuppyMonkey · 16/01/2009 12:59

Bollards?????

laweaselmys · 16/01/2009 12:59

you should get some selfish parking tickets at least it would be obvious why they'd been given them!

StewieGriffinsMom · 16/01/2009 13:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

coolma · 16/01/2009 15:22

There was a policeman aged about 12 outside my son's school the other day looking completely disinterested in all the morons on double yellow lines, zig zags etc, so I politely asked him asked if he'd spotted them. He said 'I'm just passing really..'

I could've slapped him - if i want to go to prison of course...

Stonehenge · 16/01/2009 16:54

a 12 year old police man? there are some wierd posts on mn tonight.

Ashantai · 16/01/2009 17:04

Policemen do look younger and younger dont they .

Our school is ruled by twin menaces who ticket you as soon as look at you! We used to park for free but the school is near a train station and the residents, quite rightly, got pissed off with people parking there all day and got the council to put parking bays outside.

Now i'd have been fine with this if it had been from 9.30, but the minute it reaches 9.00 the menaces on motorbikes rush out from behind their secret hideyholes and relish ticketing people who have parked for 2 mins, in a bay, not blocking anyone.

There is another school about 5 mins away which has zigzags by the zebra crossing and double yellows both sides of the road. Cars are always parked there blocking a road which is also a bus route, but to this day i have never ever seen a parking warden there

coolma · 16/01/2009 17:08

well he did look and sound like he had just left primary school..pcso I think

coolma · 16/01/2009 17:11

Interestingly, in this weeks newsletter from my son's school there is a bit about the problem, it's terribly polite though. I feel like telling the headteacher that writing nice things like 'I understand it's jolly hard to find a legal parking space but please could you try thank you so much..' is about as useful as...something very UNuseful.

Nayone worked out that this really is my particular bugbear!!!?

J2O · 16/01/2009 17:21

You should get your school involved with this kind of thing

TooFoggy · 16/01/2009 17:29

Our head stands outside the gates and askes people to move their car, not every morning but often enough for people to be wary (she is quite scarey)

leenasmom · 16/01/2009 17:46

its the same outside our school... we have a pco on there every few days... i walk to the school and my road is near the school if my road is loaded with cars i tel my dc that mummy will do magic and the regular pco paul will be at the gates... surprise surprise hes there... the day my road is clear the cars are parked on the double yellow/zigzag pavement and all... today was really funny(haha not but stupid/dangerous) the pco was there this morning and one woman actually pulled up right by them on the keep clear signs and of loaded her children!!

parents are breaking rules and we expect our children to stick to rules that are placed by these 'role models'!!

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