Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

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Palma42
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Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby Palma42 » Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:42 am

Would all Thomas' Clapham parents please consider others when driving their kids to school and ensure they park in designated parking bays rather than illegally on street corners?

Every morning without fail I see chaos on the streets near your school because parents park illegally and right on the corners of nearly every surrounding nearby street (Honeywell Road, Chatto Road, Kyrle Road, Wisley Road, Alfriston Road, Wroughton Road, etc.). This makes it very dangerous for the children who are walking (and I notice that a lot of your children are walking or scooting alone) for two reasons: 1) because it makes it difficult for children to venture out around these parked cars to see if any other cars are driving down the street or if it is clear, 2) because it creates more havoc for the cars trying to use these roads with traffic banking up and drivers becoming quite irate.

And yet there are always free spaces just a little way further up all of these roads – if Thomas' parents would leave a little earlier they could park properly and walk the extra 10-30m.

Yesterday, at 8:15am there were four cars parked illegally on each corner of Wroughton Road near Broomwood Road, this morning at 8:15am there were two. This causes utter chaos for other drivers, including the Thomas' coach driver, as they try to get through that junction – which further makes it difficult for the Lollipop lady to get the children across the road safely.
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tamara
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby tamara » Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:31 pm

Well said!
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Iagree
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby Iagree » Mon Jan 17, 2022 7:06 am

And how many of those are in SUVs, per chance?

I feel sorry for the local residents and the pollution the school run must bring them, not only the inconsiderate parking.

Take photos and send to council. If it’s bad driving you can report to met.
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HashBrown
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby HashBrown » Mon Jan 17, 2022 7:42 am

Sorry to jump in on your post, but we have the same problem with Thomas' Battersea.

I've seen a wheelchair user have to detour into the street because Thomas' parents were parked over the ramped down part of the pavement. (This also makes it very hard for those pushing a pram to navigate)

The pedestrians aren't much better. On several occasions I (and my toddler and baby) have had to step out into the road because of the parents and children not being willing to share the pavement.

I'm sure that Thomas' Battersea is teaching children wonderful things, but they certainly aren't teaching them manners!

(For contrast, this is not all children. Children from the nearby French school and two state schools all use that road and they have lovely manners)
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Ambeeeee
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby Ambeeeee » Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:16 am

I know other local schools have school staff in the vicinity to try to prevent this and increase the safety of children travelling to school by foot. Maybe Thomas’ will see this and do the same?
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chorister
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby chorister » Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:36 am

"I'm sure that Thomas' Battersea is teaching children wonderful things"  ... probably, but may be they need also to teach them that legs are for walking with, and then the parents could park away from the school and walk to collect the child and walk it back to the car!
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BFW
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby BFW » Mon Jan 17, 2022 9:19 am

I think one of the questions on the Thomas' Clapham application form must be "Do you own a 4 wheel drive?" 😉

Joking apart i live on one of the roads nearby and I can confirm it is a nightmare and the school parents have zero consideration for residents or pedestrians.  We have never had any problems with Honeywell and they are just round the corner !  It really does not reflect well on the school I am afraid.
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DietCokefan
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby DietCokefan » Mon Jan 17, 2022 9:24 am

Totally agree no-one should be parking illegally. We’ve had this problem in our area. And clearly some people could walk who currently drive. But there are all sorts of reasons people drive, in my observation most often because they have another drop off before or after.
If you’re considering contacting the council, please contact the school first (if you’re absolutely sure it’s Thomas’ parents). The schools do generally feed this down to parents, occasionally with a photo of a poorly parked car if it’s particularly bad!
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dudette
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby dudette » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:10 am

In the days before they grassed over the car park I would regularly see Broomwood Road completely blocked because of some idiot parent waiting to get into the school. It only takes one or two people behaving selfishly to cause chaos and give the school a bad name. The sense of entitlement these people have is truly astonishing.
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby NanaP » Mon Jan 17, 2022 11:22 am

It is not just an issue with St Thomas . My family are close to Belleville Meteor and mornings and afternoons are completely gridlocked for an hour each as parents park illegally all over the road and corners blocking it for residents and visitors .
When the school opened it was supposed to be suitable and close enough for parents and children to walk across the common . In fact with the very small catchment area of Belleville it would surely be quicker to walk the short distance rather than sit outside for up to half an hour often with engines running ! So much for protecting the environment .
Ironically parents who live close to Belleville Meteor have to take their own children much further afield causing even more pollution and traffic congestion in other areas !!
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SW11resident2021
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby SW11resident2021 » Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:49 pm

I agree that Thomas Clapham can be a nightmare at pick up time. In a way that I don't experience with any of the other local schools.

It isn't just bad parking, but also flinging car doors open onto the pavement without looking. Which is particularly bad on Broomwood road as cars are parked up on the pavement already. There is very little room.

Also, parents and children walking chatting 4 abreast oblivious of the people trying to walk past them in the other direction. The number of times I've had to jump into the the road, as they just keep marching towards you.

I have to walk past Thomas' at pick up time twice a week, and it's always the same.
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dinosaur
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby dinosaur » Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:56 pm

I agree, it shows a total lack of consideration, selfishness and is so dangerous.

I believe the school have recently been flagging to the parents that this illegal parking is unacceptable, but the problem is that there are parents at Thomas's (and TBF it's the case at all schools) who do not think the rules apply to them. 

They don't take a blind bit of notice when school asks them to do anything.  Surely the council could have someone come along for a couple of days at drop-off and pick-up to issue some hefty fines. 
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SW11 Resident
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby SW11 Resident » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:11 pm

One way to help rectify this issue is to take photos of the offending cars and post them on this site with the number plates clearly visible - that should hopefully shame the drivers as other Thomas's parents would then recognise whose cars they are
Last edited by SW11 Resident on Sun Jan 23, 2022 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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dinosaur
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby dinosaur » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:55 pm

You are correct in thinking that would be a solution, however I feel too harsh. Shaming on social media is a terrible punishment, even for those that blatantly ignore safety rules.

It might not be a bad idea, however, to send photos of offending vehicles, with registration plates, to the safeguarding officer at the schools where this is happening. I would be very grateful for something concrete to work with if I were them. 

 
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Onlyboys2
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Re: Thomas' Parents please don't park on street corners

Postby Onlyboys2 » Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:51 am

It’s not just a problem at Thomas’s although more understandable why younger children are driven to school. The chaos outside Emmanuel morning and afternoon is unbelievable, cars just stopping in the road on red or zigzag lines for teenagers to jump out without checking for pedestrians, cars turning in the middle of the road instead of following the flow of traffic and it’s a major route for cars and buses. These children can definitely walk themselves a few metres to school from somewhere it is safe to stop!
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