Solving the school gate chaos
Parents are clogging up the capital – stopping their cars in the middle of roads, causing delays and creating safety concerns during school pickup and drop-off periods.
The frustration this creates has become so bad in Wellington that one parent has even threatened to run over the principal of a city school.
To alleviate the mayhem, and congestion, Wellington City Council wants to develop a school travel plan focused on ‘‘active transport’’ options and alternative pick-up zones.
If adopted, it would be a formal city-wide agreement between the council, each school and its board, police and other stakeholders such as teachers, parents and students.
The move comes after years of reported traffic jams outside Wellington schools, particularly around
St Mark’s School, Wellington College and Wellington East Girls’ College, which are all near the Basin Reserve traffic chokepoint.
But the issue is widespread. Tomorrow, councillors will debate whether some car parks in the suburb of Newtown should be converted into a pick-up and drop-off zone during peak times to alleviate morning and afternoon pressure points.
In a submission, Newtown School said a lack of suitable parking meant some parents were stopping in the middle of the road to drop off their children, causing delays, congestion and pedestrian safety concerns.
South Wellington Intermediate School principal Traci Liddall said daily bottlenecks were particularly bad when it rained.
‘‘I’ve had parents do the fingers, throw a complete hissy-fit and one dad threaten to run me over when I’m trying to get them to move away from the pedestrian crossing and not park on the yellow, dotted lines,’’ she said.
Rintoul St was the main chokepoint because parents seemed to think their kids would ‘‘melt’’ if dropped further than 10 metres from the gate.