School parkers face fines (From Witney Gazette)

School parkers face fines

9:00am Monday 26th February 2007 in Headlines By Nione Meakin

PARENTS who endanger children by parking their cars outside Oxfordshire schools could soon be hit with fines.

John Sanders, Labour county councillor for Cowley and Littlemore, will next month put forward a motion that, with the agreement of headteachers, the council brings in a traffic order, meaning drivers could be fined for parking on yellow zig-zag lines outside schools.

Currently the markings are not enforced. Mr Sanders said unless action was taken, it would not be long before a child was injured.

He said: "Currently the lines only act in an advisory capacity and parents are leaving their cars all over the road at picking up and dropping off time.

"It may only be for five minutes, but it doesn't take five minutes to kill a child."

Sue Mortimer, headteacher at Rose Hill Primary School, said: "We talk to parents, we send out reminders in newsletters and we've even had the police up here at picking up and dropping off time, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

"I think parents think they're not actually stopping, because they're only there for 30 seconds or so, but it is still dangerous. The area should be completely free of vehicles, so it is safe to cross.

"I think for us, and for all schools, it would be a really good thing for there to be more of a sanction, but it needs to come from the council. It isn't something that individual schools on their own are ever going to be able to solve."

Lynn Knapp, headteacher at Windmill Primary School, in Margaret Road, Headington, said she would also welcome the move.

The school is in a residential area and allocated parking spaces are for residents only, making it a difficult situation for parents.

Mrs Knapp said: "At the moment, we are looking at the idea of a school travel plan to get children to school without using cars.

"I do appreciate the problems parents face, but I would welcome the enforcement of zig-zag lines where children are at risk."

Geoff Barrell, Oxfordshire County Council's head of road safety, said the authority did not have a great problem with accidents immediately outside schools, but were concentrating on trying to get children to school by means other than car.

He added: "At the moment no changes are planned for traffic regulation orders regarding zig-zag lines outside schools.

"Although other parts of the country do have traffic orders that allow fines for parking on zig-zag lines, it is unlikely that the police and local authorities have the resources to rigorously enforce this.

"We are certainly willing to speak to councillor Sanders."