ALMOST 40 residents living around Lickey Hills Primary School attended a special meeting to discuss parking issues in the area.
The get-together was organised by Worcestershire County Councillor Adrian Kriss who had received a deluge of emails from those living in the area.
Residents expressed concerns about illegal and irresponsible parking – on double yellow lines, zig-zags and verges. These actions posed dangers to both children walking to school and motorists trying to get off their driveways to head to work.
And some said there were further issues when the school held evening events, such as the Halloween disco, as it meant the parking problems extended to the night, rather than just pick-up and drop-off times.
One resident, who was also the parent of a child at Lickey Hills Primary, said: “My son walks himself to and from school but I worry each and every day because it is too dangerous.
“I have tried to reason with other parents but I get verbally abused.”
Her comments on receiving verbal abuse from parents when they questioned their parking decisions or requested they park more sensibly were echoed by other attendees.
Picture by Tristan Harris. Copyright Bullivant Media.
On the panel, along with Coun Kriss, was Bromsgrove District Councillor for Cofton Anita Dale, PCSO Stuart Taylor from Hagley and Rubery Police, the headteacher of Lickey Hills Primary School, David Dathan and deputy head Helen Williams.
Mr Dathan said: “We do not disagree with anything anyone has said here tonight and we too are frustrated with the way some people are parking.
“I have spoken to parents as a whole and spoken to specific parents.
“I have even spoken to the children during assemblies and told them ‘although it is not your job as you are not driving, could you please suggest your parents park more sensibly?’.”
Mooted solutions
A number of suggestions were put forward in a bid to find a solution.
One of those was a ‘Drop and Go’ scheme where children would be dropped outside and then walk through the gates, quickening the process. But, it was pointed out there would not be enough staff available to marshal the children to make sure they got to where they were supposed to be. An appeal for volunteers was suggested to carry out the roles.
Another suggestion was that a patch of land near the school be made available for parking – this, many said, had been mooted several times over the years but nothing had been done about it.
Surrounding roads which are less busy, such as Twatling Road, could be used to ease congestion but, residents said ‘parents did not want to walk the extra distance’.
Using minibuses from a drop-off point away from the school was also suggested as Worcestershire County Council had some which could be used. But, again, it would need staff on the bus to ensure the children’s safety.
The suggestion which received the most overwhelming support from those gathered was parking enforcement.
But it was pointed out that, since 2015, Bromsgrove District Council had taken over responsibility for parking enforcement and the responsibility was no longer with the police.
Cuts had meant there were now only six parking attendants for the whole of Bromsgrove District and West Mercia Police could only ticket cars if they were obstructing pavements and the highway and not because they were on double yellow lines or zig-zags.
Coun Kriss suggested a motion be put to Bromsgrove District Council to give the police and the council dual responsibility to enforce parking restrictions which received the backing of the majority of residents.
PCSO Taylor said, were the police to also be handed the powers, he or other officers would be able to issue tickets to those parking on double yellow lines, zig-zags and obstructing the highway or pavements.
It was suggested another meeting be organised for the new year to update residents on the progress of the solutions.
