Council targets bad parking outside schools

7:40am Friday 25th January 2013 in News

Cllr Angie Gaywood campaigning Cllr Angie Gaywood campaigning

THURROCK Council said the problem with dangerous parking outside schools is on the rise.

The council’s road safety officers have visited the borough’s schools in an affort to educate parents who are parking illegally on keep clear markings, by giving them leaflets and advice about the dangers.

Cllr Angie Gaywood, cabinet member for public protection, said: “We are doing everything we can to encourage parents who park irresponsibly outside schools to think about their behaviour and the example they are giving to children.

“As a parent with children at schools in Thurrock I understand the pressures for working parents to get their children to school on time, however that is no excuse for parking irresponsibly.

“The council will not tolerate this kind of thoughtlessness which is putting so many of our children at risk, especially when there are easy alternatives.

“Walking is by far the healthiest and most sustainable form of transport, but if parents feel it is essential to use their car, they need to park a short distance from the school and walk the rest of the way.

“To help alleviate this problem, residents may be aware we will be trialling a CCTV car in the spring, but we will continue to use a number of tactics to ensure our streets can be safer for all our children.”

Comments(9)

Brooks Forbutox says...
8:57am Fri 25 Jan 13

Blame UK politicians for fawning over motorists for this: we're dependent on our cars and, oh, it could have been so different. Check this link to see how kids go to school in Europe: http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?feature=pla
yer_embedded&v=jEtZS
M3sXyY

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babyblueeyes says...
9:28am Fri 25 Jan 13

why is a CCTV car needed other than to make a profit for the council? bet they are rubbing their hands together .I know you get the odd idiot who parks irrasponsably outside the school but you and I both know the CCTV car is only there to make money not for safety

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cyclingbobby says...
10:06am Fri 25 Jan 13

babyblueeyes wrote:
why is a CCTV car needed other than to make a profit for the council? bet they are rubbing their hands together .I know you get the odd idiot who parks irrasponsably outside the school but you and I both know the CCTV car is only there to make money not for safety
"Odd idiot"?. Take a look at this link to my film of an average morning by a primary school in Hutton. http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=VBoE3o7wM
7E&feature=youtube_g
data_player

You will not only see parking on zigzags, you will see driving on the pavement, people open doors into the path of traffic, speeding (this is a 20). Unless we actually start fining or giving out points to these idiots they will never change their behaviour. I want my children to be able to walk or cycle the half mile or so to school, not be in constant fear of these lazy selfish idiots.

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C.E.R. says...
12:50pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Lets hope these stupid motorists take note, especially the disabled driver who parks on the pavement at Harris Primary blocking the way.
Keep the pavements clear and park where you should do!

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babyblueeyes says...
2:08pm Fri 25 Jan 13

i do agree with you cycling bobby but also think about school half terms where do u think the cctv car will be? its not going to be put away in a garage its it its going to be out raking in cash for the council targeting all thurrock residents ! please understand that just because someone drives their child to school doesnt always mean they are lazy i have to drive as i live to far from the school to walk I always park up as far as possible from the gates and walk down to collect them . I know probably in your day children had to walk to school in storms & snow with knee legnth shorts on blah blah blah but times have changed we are not living in the past anymore parents drive to collect their children today get used to it but doesnt give people the right to park like morons tho which i do hope they get a fine .

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blakkwasp says...
5:30pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Its about time the council put railings down hathaway road outside grays media arts college as its getting stupid along there on a morning and afternoon
Idiot parents just park everywhere even on the zig zag lines! and the speed hump at the top of the road should be made into a zebra crossing as all the kids just walk straight across it anyway.

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grays_mum says...
2:59pm Sat 26 Jan 13

babyblueeyes wrote:
why is a CCTV car needed other than to make a profit for the council? bet they are rubbing their hands together .I know you get the odd idiot who parks irrasponsably outside the school but you and I both know the CCTV car is only there to make money not for safety
I don't have a problem with it. If people park legally there should be no reason for them to worry about CCTV cars or anything else.

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Thurrockbob says...
6:27am Sun 27 Jan 13

There should be a no parking zone within a minimum of 500 yds from any school, it wouldn't hurt the little darlings to walk the last bit.

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Dave_ says...
5:54pm Sun 27 Jan 13

What I don't understand is why no one finds out why drive their little loves to school and in doing so will understand the problem and then focus on a solution.
However this should not be required unless we have really stupid people working for the council. The reasons people drive children to school and park as they do IMO are:
> allowed to choose or are allocated schools, so not always walkable, But this then requires someone to decide what is a walkable distance. Both of y schools were about ¾ mile (not straight line) and we either walked or cycled.
> most of those parking are mums trying to get to a part-time job (mostly) that they have had to take to fit around children. I do wonder if they make economic sense a lot of the time. The number of mums with primary school age children who work seems to have grown over the last 20 odd years and definitely since I was at school, or seems to have done so. But when I went to school families with 2 or more cars were like hen's teeth.

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