Locals demand end to school run ‘mayhem’
A KINGS Heath resident has said scenes of “absolute gridlock” outside her home are an everyday experience as she called for more traffic-calming measures in her neighbourhood.
Ruth Follows lives near Goldsmith Road, which is used by parents as a drop-off point for nearby St Dunstan’s Catholic Primary School and Bishop Challoner Catholic College. She told how drivers were causing mayhem on her road, leading to “nasty” scenes.
In a video she posted on social media, cars and vans at a standstill can be seen lining the road on the first day back from the Easter break. She said: “You have a lot of cars
going down narrow, residential streets which aren’t built to cope with it – it was absolute total gridlock for around 45 minutes.
“It can get quite nasty at times, you get a lot of road rage and a lot of swearing.”
Ms Follows is one of a number of residents in the area calling for carfree streets in the residential area.
Another parent, Claire Spencer, said she feared a child would be seriously hurt unless action was taken.
It is not the first time parents in Kings Heath have raised concerns about traffic around schools, with a 1,000-strong petition presented to the council last year calling for carfree streets outside another primary.
Ms Follows said a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) would be a good step to addressing the issue.
She said: “Kings Heath is a fantastic area to live in, we have everything we need on our doorstep and it’s a brilliant community – but my children see so many angry drivers and hear a lot of swearing, which I don’t particularly like.
“I don’t want them to think that this is an acceptable way to behave.
“The lack of forward momentum on finding a potential solution is a bit frustrating.
“As residents, we’d love to work with local schools to help find a solution to this problem – and they are definitely trying to help.
“But for me, I think it’s time to give an LTN a go.
“At school drop-off time, we have people travelling in from across the city – an LTN would stop them coming directly through our residential roads. The majority of residents here want to give an LTN a go.”