Wirral cul-de-sac chaos (From Wirral Globe)
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Wirral cul-de-sac chaos
12:50pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in News By Geoff Barnes
Wirra cul-de-sac chaos
A WIRRAL community is demanding action to relieve the cul-de-sac chaos created by drivers causing a traffic log-jam as they drop off and pick up their children attending a nearby school.
Residents of Walker’s Croft in Wallasey Village have called on Wirral Council to ease their daily nightmare and stop parents parking on pavements and preventing householders from parking outside their own homes.
Their petition complains that drivers reverse off pavements while children try to cross the road; and that selfish parking makes the road inaccessible to emergency vehicles.
Keith Phillips, a traffic officer with the Highways Agency, said: "It is only a matter of time before someone is run over.
"The principal issue is safety. At school run times the situation at the bottom of our short cul-de-sac is pretty demented.
"A lot of parents are continually crossing the bottom of the road and with cars parked right up to the junction it makes for an extremely dangerous situation.”
Mr Phillips, 54, went on: "There seems to be a complete lack of consideration for anyone who lives in the road.
"We used to have an elderly couple living next door and whenever they approached drivers to ask them to move on they always got a mouthful of abuse.
"With it being a narrow cul-d-sac it makes it very difficult just to get to you own house. Very rarely have I received a civil reply from the parents – it’s aS though road rage sets in."
Mr Phillips, who has lived in Walker’s Croft since 2001, insisted: "It just can't go on like this. We need 'residents only' parking."
Local councillor Lesley Rennie said the school involved – St George's Primary – was one of the biggest in the country which brought inherent problems.
"We have had many meetings and correspondence with the school about the issue of irresponsible parking by parents," she said.
"Letters have been sent out to parents, but is it is something that has never been fully resolved.
"I support the parents in their campaign and once we get official notice of the petition I will ask officers to do a full survey, not only for the residents, but for the safety of pupils as well.
"Parents are putting children in danger through irresponsible parking but people don’t seems to be getting the message."
Comments(14)
water1lily
says...
12:01am Sat 23 Feb 13
ConcernedRatePayer
says...
10:22am Sat 23 Feb 13
uncatom
says...
1:05pm Sat 23 Feb 13
Hugo1008
says...
10:15am Sun 24 Feb 13
It is little wonder that residents in effected locations start to take desperate measures themselves, people have been known to have large sticky notices pasted on to windscreens of offending cars.
This is irksome to the offending vehicle owners, on other occasions vehicles have been blocked in and unable to be moved, this all leads to friction and shouting and bawling, until the authorities eventually take notice and alleviate the problems to residents.
It is a sad fact the responsible citizens are some time driven to taking direct action in order to galvanize authorities to uphold the rights of resident to a bit of peace and harmony in the place they call home, its also an indication to the growing malaise of a society who just please themselves and to hell with everyone else, in particular when it come to cars and parking, etc we are seeing an increasing lawless society.
whatdotheythinkweare
says...
10:16am Sun 24 Feb 13
Townfield primary school on nocturum have just been awarded planning permission to build a huge expansion which will in time (history shows) increase their numbers further, resulting in extra traffic/parking
Why do all these parents travel by car? Because it is the nursery provision which do not restrict to catchment areas hence the NEED for vehicular transport and parking.
Townfield school do NOT ALLOW ANY parents to park in their sizeable car park and so all driving parents and even teachers, staff and visitors to the school park elsewhere... this includes a private car park, on driveways, across driveways and garages (a lot of photographic evidence provided to every relevant WBC department). We have residents who are literally TRAPPED IN THEIR OWN HOMES!
Townfield residents have campaigned against the expansion as it will increase traffic amongst other things, yet Wirral Planning Dept approved, despite the HEadteacher herself contacting parents asking them "to play their part to ensure there is not a fatality outside our school". WE DON'T WANT A FATALITY ANYWHERE!
We have had a highway assessment completed, and double yellow lines implemented on the main road, which has forced some back into the tiny cul-de-sacs surround the school, yet some parents still park on these restrictions causing a severe hazard to children/pedestrians and drivers... So highways have also identified there is a hazardous problem.
The Planner has added a condition to the planning application to ensure a travel assessment is completed... As she too recognises the dire situation with regards to traffic.
As said in this article it is just a matter of time before there is a fatality due to traffic/parking at these school times. Yet they, WBC, have approved a Planning application which will increase traffic ... I know I would feel guilty if I was on that panel and voted for the approval!
WBC you are unbelievable in your decisions! UDP and NPPF restricts parking around schools... Why did you Approve?
MAKE CHANGES NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE AND SOMEBODY IS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR WORSE!!!!!!
uncatom
says...
2:34pm Tue 26 Feb 13
water1lily
says...
2:49pm Tue 26 Feb 13
whatdotheythinkweare
says...
4:53pm Tue 26 Feb 13
With situations like these how can we stop a fatality in the future?
We have had school-transport (buses for swim sessions) parked up with children boarding the bus, whilst its back end is sticking out on a dangerous double blind-bend, causing traffic into the opposite side of this busy road, into the blind bend (again, video evidence has been recorded, and sent to authorities following the school's ignorance to the health and safety of those children).
It's time to change which ever regulations necessary to prevent schools from allowing their parents to park on the public highway within a zone around the school.
Any other business or commercial property and they are required to provide ample parking / drop off / pick up provisions. The nursery side of the school is big business involving a handsome revenue!
So because this 'business' for the paying parent, who travels from all over Birkenhead/Wirral (no catchment for nursery), happens to be on school property they don't have to abide by the rules and regulations which the average commercial nursery have to!
Some one is making money at the expense of our local amenities and our safety! As I say, in any standard commercial business this would not be allowed.
WBC have suffered detrimental media coverage recently, now is the time to start making the RIGHT decisions, work for the people, the people who work hard to pay your wages and keep you employed.
Cut the red tape, clear away the bureaucracy and do things RIGHT...
Save your soul, save our communities and save a child's life! make the changes now!
bickyboy
says...
8:24pm Wed 27 Feb 13
Most of Wallasey wasn't built for cars, and the advent of the internal combustion engine has led to humans becoming increasingly lazy. That's it, really.
Hugo1008
says...
10:38pm Thu 28 Feb 13
Offending Vehicals could be removed and taken to a compound, owners would have 24 hours to retrieve the vehical at a cost of course.
Failure to retrieve the object concerned they could be crushed and the scap metal sold to defrey the cost. Plus the owner would be fined.
This could perhaps employ some local to remove offending vehicals, crush those not reclaimed, create the scrap, recoup the fines and solve the problem.
Local Business would benefit from increased car sales to replace those lost, thereby boost the local economy.
All round a win win situation for the local population, economy, and employment, problem solved.
Even the local employers in the Legal Profession requiring more staff to deaL with the increased business.
Brilliant. Result increased safety for pedestrians, and children, satisfied local residents, a more civilised and happy local environment, Job done.
whatdotheythinkweare
says...
11:02pm Thu 28 Feb 13
Firstly, the residents are also forced to park on pavements and across their own garages/driveways else there isn't room to pass. No enforcement officer would know which were offending cars.
Secondly, the need to replace a crushed car would result in offenders taking extra employment to meet the funding needs to purchase such.
Thirdly, if there was an abundance of metals finding their way through scrap merchants the price of metals would go down, and then there would be no market for the thieving toe rags to earn a few quid... Just kidding, but the reduction in price of metals would slow the economy slightly.
I would suggest the school providing suitable and adequatly sized parking provision for use by parents before they lay a brick on their new building as COMPULSARY. They have masses of land!
charles
says...
11:18am Fri 1 Mar 13
Many of them would drop their children off inside the classroom if they were able!
I live near a school where car parking for staff and visitors is totally inadequate. This is made worse at drop off/pick up times.
During the school day staff and visitors block our driveways and tear up the grass verges-made worse following the heavy rains- by irresponsible parking.
Cars are parked immediately at the junction making it difficult to exit or enter the road safely.
When the parents arrive absolute chaos.
Attempts to remonstrate with drivers who have blocked my driveway frequently lead to a torrent of abuse.
Complaints to our local councillors and the Police are pointless. Nothing is ever done.
Our only relief is during the long school holidays. For us, not long enough!
charles
says...
11:18am Fri 1 Mar 13
Many of them would drop their children off inside the classroom if they were able!
I live near a school where car parking for staff and visitors is totally inadequate. This is made worse at drop off/pick up times.
During the school day staff and visitors block our driveways and tear up the grass verges-made worse following the heavy rains- by irresponsible parking.
Cars are parked immediately at the junction making it difficult to exit or enter the road safely.
When the parents arrive absolute chaos.
Attempts to remonstrate with drivers who have blocked my driveway frequently lead to a torrent of abuse.
Complaints to our local councillors and the Police are pointless. Nothing is ever done.
Our only relief is during the long school holidays. For us, not long enough!
Wirralrob says...
3:17pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Close off the road at the school end and the problem is solved. There should be no on-street parking on that road normally anyway as all all residents have off road parking.
Despite this, I agree that lazy parents doing a 500-metre school run in a car each day are to bone idle to realise that as much as they save a whole 5 minutes of their precious time, they are creating fat offspring.