School car ban support growing: readers’ views
SUPPORT for exclusion zones for all vehicles around schools is growing after Evening Times readers backed an East End politicians call for a ban.
We reported how John Mason, SNP MSP for Glasgow Shettleston Constituency, wrote to Glasgow City Council’s education department to make the call following an alleged incident at a city primary school.
And earlier this week we visited a school in Coatbridge where zig-zag bandits have been causing havoc.
Our pictures captured parents double parking and squeezing their vehicles along Portland Street – right outside a nursery entrance.
We took to the streets to find out what Evening Times readers thought of a parking ban near schools.
Ellen Brockie, 69, retired, said: “It puts the children too much at risk, it’s far too dangerous. I used to see it when I took my grandchildren to school and it was dreadful, people’s behaviour is dreadful. Especially young mothers driving, the behaviour is atrocious. There should be a drop off but the majority of them could probably walk to school and give the kids some exercise.”
William Sharpe, 72, retired, said: “No, no parking. A lot of them have these zigzags where you’re not allowed to park and if people are parking there then that’s an offence. I think there should be a drop-off point but the problem comes when parent’s come to pick their kids up from school – where are they meant to stop if that’s busy?”
Student Robert Moses, 20, said: “I think it’s a bit drastic to say no parking zones outside school.
“I think separate car parks for parents at schools would be another way to resolve this without being so full on.”
Fiona McKechnie, 21, a student, said: “I think that’s a bad idea because you need to be able to drop kids off at school. If they’re going to clubs after school, or if the school’s being used for an event, it would make it really difficult to get parked anywhere.”
Susan Morgan, 54, who is retired, said she thinks it depends on the area the school is in and the circumstances of the child.
She added: “Some children have physical problems or are on the autistic spectrum or have learning difficulties and they need to be very carefully escorted and supervised going to and from school.
“Or even little ones that can be running around. But I know it’s a big issue with mums dropping a lot of kids off at the same time, there’s problems with congestion and some areas a lot of kids don’t walk to school.
“Whether the council could introduce an area near the school for parking or not remains to be seen – it would be very expensive for that land in Glasgow. Or whether they could do stag- gered parking. I know it’s difficult as a working mum, though, when you’re dropping kids off, you’re limited for time, getting to work.
“I think the council should have a debate with some of the mums, the parents and the schools before they decide. That would be a good idea.”
Andy Morgans, 60, a paramedic, said: “I come from London and there’s no parking outside schools there and it’s been like that for ages, so I think yeah.
“The trouble is, nobody wants to walk to school anymore they all just want to drive.”