Melbourne parents causing traffic chaos with school pick-up parking
PARENTS are punching on and blocking driveways in the rush to get pole position outside schools. Teachers have become traffic cops as Melbourne’s congestion crisis hits the school run. SHARE YOUR STORY
Education
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TEACHERS have turned to being traffic cops for agitated parents as Melbourne’s congestion crisis spills into suburban school zones.
Pick-up and drop-off times have become nightmare scenarios as principals are forced to add traffic management and road rage incidents to their daily responsibilities.
Bully parkers have been caught blocking driveways, stealing disabled spots and even punching other parents in the rush to get pole position outside the schoolyard.
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Berwick Lodge principal Henry Grossek said he was regularly called on to intervene and dob in parents to the local council.
“The irony of that is that on more than one occasion parents have then pleaded with me to have their infringement notes rescinded,” Mr Grossek said.
“For a period of time I made a point of patrolling the streets myself but it impacted on other things I should have been doing.”
The issue has become so common that traffic warnings regularly feature in school newsletters.
St Andrews Werribee Catholic School warned its parents to “respect the road rules and parking signs” after a student was almost struck outside the school gate.
“A car driving up on to the ‘no parking’ area actually brushed against one of our students waiting to cross the road,” the February newsletter read.
Another warning to Glenroy West Primary School parents said: “It is shocking to hear the dangerous and reckless practices drivers continuously display in and around the school because everyone is in a hurry. Reports of parents parking across driveways and walk accesses have been coming in.”
Fed-up parents have also raised the alarm.
At Sydenham Hillside Primary School, the nearby kindergarten and high school make pick-up a nightmare.
Parent Fiona De Ponte said the parking had led to verbal stoushes at the school gate and road rage.
“I have to get to the school at 2pm if I want to get a park for when my kids get out at 3.30pm,” she said.
“They park with their hazards on all over the road and footpath, which blocks other people.
“And that’s when fights and road rage start.”
Victorian Principals Association president Anne-Maree Kliman said she was appalled by the behaviour of some parents.
“I saw a mum hit another mum because she wasn’t happy about losing her parking spot, which is just totally unacceptable behaviour, especially around children,” she said.
“The problem is often that parents want to be closest to the gate as possible and nobody likes to walk.”
Burwood mum Hannah, who declined to have her surname published, called out parents at Presbyterian Ladies’ College for “using Burwood Highway as their own private lane”.
“The surrounding streets … are always clogged with cars around (school pick-up time), with drivers disobeying road rules and parking where they shouldn’t,” she said.
“Large cars take up the whole street and it is an absolute nightmare trying to get out of your own driveway — nearly impossible.”
A Department of Education spokesman said schools in residential areas can face difficulty during drop-off and pick-ups.
“Safety around school is everyone’s responsibility — parents, students and the local community — and we would ask people to be considerate to others around the school gates.”
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