Cars could be banned from streets outside schools in Wirral where pavement parking is making parents' lives a ‘misery’ and putting children at risk.

Wirral Council have agreed to trial ‘Controlled Parking Zones’ around the borough’s worst effected areas in a bid to tackle congestion at the school gates.

The amount of cars on the road has led to pavement parking becoming a wide-spread issue not just in Wirral but across the whole of Merseyside.

Wirral is the first local authority to suggest banning cars in targeted areas, especially around primary schools.

The local authority say parking zone initiatives have been introduced in other parts of the country to tackle the problem, including Edinburgh, Hackney and Solihull.

At a full council meeting last night they voted unanimously in favour of a motion which proposed piloting a similar control scheme in the local area.

Oxton Lib Dem councillor Stuart Kelly, who put forward the motion, said this may end the misery many local residents have to put up with in the morning and afternoon school run.

He said: “I receive numerous complaints from residents who live near to schools telling me of inconsiderate parking across driveways and dropped kerbs, such parking is not only a nuisance to residents but can be a danger to children walking or cycling to school.

“I brought a motion to the council meeting and councillors unanimously voted to look at schemes which have been successful elsewhere to limit access to residential areas during school travel times.

“The council will now be looking to trail these schemes at selected schools in Wirral”.

What is a Controlled Parking Zone?

A Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) is an area where all on-street parking is controlled or restricted.

They have been introduced in various forms across the country to crack down on traffic and congestion outside schools.

One example is Solihull Council, who introduced a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which prohibits any car from entering into, out of or around the School Streets Zone at certain times of the day.

Hackney Council are also piloting a ‘School Streets’ scheme to transform roads outside schools, so that only pedestrians and cyclists can use them at school start and finish times.

On Monday night’s meeting, Wirral council recommended that the Cabinet should introduce Controlled Parking Zones schemes at selected schools, with pilot schools to be determined following cross-party discussions.

The motion recommended that the residential areas around Townfield Primary School and Raeburn Primary School are selected as suitable pilot areas.

Schools adjacent to main roads, where controlled parking is likely to have the most impact on air quality, are likely to be targeted in the pilot.