FURIOUS parents have slammed their kids’ school after it set up roadblocks in a scheme to abolish the school run.
Pilgrim Academy in Lincolnshire sparked fury after introducing ‘no-car zones’ to disrupt parents’ drop-off routines.
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The scheme sees all cars banned from driving anywhere near the school, and fuming parents claim they have even been fined for breaking the strict rules.
Parents also slammed the scheme as inconvenient, claiming the roadblocks force them to shepherd their children along untreated icy pavements to reach the gates.
Many feel the parking purge misses the mark, and is merely increasing parking congestion on nearby streets – potentially making the morning walk to school even more dangerous than before.
The academy joined several other schools in the area as it introduced the scheme, as it sets up temporary roadblocks to prevent cars driving up the lane at the start and end of the school day.
Peter Harness, 63, an oil refinery worker, dropping off an eight and a four-year-old, hit out at the plans as “a stupid idea”.
He added: “The pavements are all frozen over and slippery. It is icy and the paths are not even salted. When it snows, it will be even worse.
“There is a church car park just across the road where people could turn around in. So it was not really a problem.
“It is a winter. Parents are going to be dropping off kids in cars and there is plenty of grass by the school where the council could build another car park.
“This is just transferring the problem somewhere else so the parents are parked outside someone else’s house now.”
HGV driver Rick Whitlock, 42, agreed, feeling the plans are “causing more trouble than its worth”.
“All the time I have been coming here I have never seen a near miss. Everyone was really careful before,” he added.
“The main road by the school now is absolutely chockablock with everyone parking there.
“It is a nightmare and I think there is more chance of an accident now. So I don’t think this is achieving anything.
“A lot of parents who used to park down this street came half-an-hour early to get a space.
“So even though the road was full you did not get a lot of traffic movement during the actual school run.
“You did not get people flying around like idiots down here. Now people are parking all around the corner and it’s mental.
“I have to go between the cars to check it is safe for the kids to go through because they cannot see.”
Mum Klimentina Georgieur, 39, said: “It is a good thing they think about the safety of the kids.
“But this has just moved the problem elsewhere. I know one grandmother who has problems with her knees.
“It is a big challenge for her to walk the extra distance from where she is parked. So from her point of view it is a nightmare.”
‘BRILLIANT IDEA’
Despite the scheme driving some parents mad, others have praised it as necessary for keeping the local schoolkids safe.
Laura Chapman, with her eight-year-old daughter Holly, said: “It is a fantastic idea. It was really dangerous before. There have been a few near misses.”
Nodding in agreement, her pal Sally Macdougall, 39, with Oliver, eight, said: “They should have done it years ago.
“The main danger is when the cars are turning around and reversing. They don’t care that it is busy and we have nowhere else to stand. It is even worse at night time.
“They blocked off the church car park because it was getting silly. So they cannot use that anymore to turn around.
“The children feel more safe and the mums with younger kids who have pushchairs as well. It should be made permanent.”
And residents in the cul-de-sac leading to the school say they have been fighting for a parking purge for years.
Jaqueline Hickman, 74, said: “It’s brilliant. I have been fighting for this for 45 years. They are parking on the grass verges and either side.
“Tiny tots have been trying to get in between cars. We have seen so many near misses it’s frightening.”
Pauline Newham added: “It has good points and bad points but it has made the road safer and needed doing.”
A NEW CHAPTER
Hailed as a new chapter for the school, Principal Andrew Clark said it will be a great help to keeping pupils safe.
Mr Clark said: “I’m really pleased we’ve managed to get the scheme in place, it’s something we’ve pushed for and with the help of the council we’ve managed to make it happen.
“We’ve had a few complaints over the years about parking so it’s definitely something we’ve been in need of.
“There was only so much we could do to stop this from happening though so for the council to help us get it up and running is great.”
“There has been a small minority that have been disgruntled, but most parents have been happy about the idea and realise that this is a lot safer for everyone.”
The initiative will run for a trial period of six months before a decision will be made if it should become permanent, and Mr Clark said he would “love to see it continue”.
North East Lincolnshire Councillor Stewart Swinburn said: “Children’s safety is absolutely vital to maintain in all circumstances, but especially around school locations where vehicles pose a threat to their safety with dangerous driving and parking at drop-off and pick-up times.
“The scheme will help improve the road safety concerns schools have in their area and will keep children safer during the school’s operation times.
“All the schools where we’ve implemented the scheme have parking problems and Pilgrim Academy is especially great as it brings the trial to a school out of the main town too.”
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