Chief Inspector appeals to locals to drive carefully around Falkirk's schools

As the new term begins local officers have been working with their respective primary and secondary schools to deal with the persistent problem of inconsiderate parking at schools. As you can imagine the problem is mainly at drop off and pick up times and a proportion of parents/carers and family members, when dropping off young people at schools, park inconsiderately, causing unnecessary obstruction and on occasion danger on the streets and pavements.

Chief Inspector Damian Armstrong, Area Commander for Falkirk Area Command

In addition to the issues caused outside the school there are also problems for local residents with driveways blocked and the volume of traffic can delay journeys. Along with our partners at the Local Authority, local elected members, parent teacher councils and the pupils themselves, local officers are visiting the schools at peak times to educate, warn and where needed enforce parking restrictions. It is disappointing to note the majority of offending vehicles belong to parents/carers and family members who are dropping off children and picking them up again.

While we sympathise with parents/carers and family members who, like many people, live hectic lives, all too often cars are parked in difficult positions, despite repeated pleas from schools to park responsibly and drive carefully. Parking on pavements restricts pedestrian movement and may cause young children to have to walk into the roadway and put themselves in danger. In addition the problem of drivers stopping on the “zig-zag” markings directly outside school persists, causing congestion and increasing the danger to children as they have to cross the road amongst parked cars.

This issue is common to all areas within Falkirk and presents a real risk to the safety of children so park responsibly and drive carefully around our schools.