Car ‘chaos’ on school run
RESIDENTS claim council bosses will make a bad situation worse at a traffic-clogged primary school.
But education chiefs have hit back – saying parents should leave their cars at home and find new ways to travel.
Blairdardie Primary is being demolished and rebuilt in a different part of the same site.
Locals say the area is a nightmare at drop-off and pick-up times with parents double parking and blocking roads.
However, planners claim there is very little they can do to ease the situation.
Judith Fisher, who is standing as councillor for Drumchapel and Anniesland, said: “I fought long and hard to secure a new building for Blairdardie Primary, but it has to work for the whole community.
“The new build is a chance to resolve longstanding parking issues locally, unfortunately the current proposal would exacerbate the existing problem.”
A planning application for the new school is currently going through planning processes with Glasgow City Council.
Eric Flack, secretary of Blairdardie and Old Drumchapel Community Council, said: “They are putting in a brand new school and there’s about 48 per cent of pupils who don’t live in the area and are coming by car.
“Parents park along Great Western Road and all around the streets there. They turn up from around 2pm and sit watching TV on portable devices while they wait.
“Drivers get up to all sorts of things – there are folk parking on the middle of roundabouts. It is absolute chaos.”
However, David McEwan, Estate Programme Manager for Education Services, insists all alternatives have been looked at and the onus is now on parents.
He said: “The City Plan 2 says we should be trying to encourage as many people as possible to use alternative forms of transport.
“As a principle, we need to be seen to be encouraging more sustainable forms of transport because we have a sustainability project that means we are trying to reduce emissions and reduce traffic.”
Currently, the Knightswood school has parking for five cars and two entrances to the school. The new plans would increase this to 18 parking spaces, two disabled parking spaces and four pedestrian access points.
Mr McEwan said:“Under the plans for the new school, the entrance to the staff car park is at Kearn Avenue. People will argue that’s a silly place, on a bend, but bearing in mind this is the entrance to the staff car park.”
Mr McEwan added: “If we create a drop-off zone and spend money providing that then they would continue to park inconsiderately.
“The flow of traffic is concentrated to a very short window in the morning and again in the afternoon.
“If it’s absolutely necessary to bring your car then do it more considerately.”