Forest Town head teacher calls for better parking outside school

John T Rice Infant and Nursery School, on Braemar Road, is located on a tight residential street with very little access to parking.

The school’s head teacher, Shelley Bennett, said it is “carnage” during drop off and pick up times and finds that parents often park across the drives of Braemar Road houses.

She says it is dangerous on the street and has had complaints from parents about a lack of access during peak times, so to remind parents about responsible parking she has erected a banner outside the school gates.

The banner reminds parents to ‘Think Before You Park’ and urges them to use a nearby car park rather than “flooding what is already a tight road”.

She said: “The school grows in size each year and we have more children with us - meaning more children getting dropped off.

“The issue is that we are in a residential area and parents often park across the driveways of houses on the street.

“The road is really narrow and it’s carnage during drop off times because of the amount of cars on the streets, and we’ve had a few residents complaining about the traffic problems recently.

“I decided to create the banner to encourage people who live in the area to walk their children to school or use the nearby car park.

“We’ve got little ones running out of school and there are so many cars so it could be dangerous.

“I’m hoping it will encourage parents to use the car park at the end of the road and to be mindful about the residents too - we can’t dictate where they park but hopefully it will help.”

Mrs Bennett was supported in her campaign by Councillor Sid Walker, district member for Forest Town, who lives on the street himself.

Coun Walker said he has pressed Nottinghamshire County Council to repaint and extend the yellow ‘no parking’ lines outside the school, to cover the nearby SureStart centre for younger children.

He said: “I live just down the road and it is a nightmare during drop off periods.

“The road is so narrow and the no parking lines on the road are ineffective.

“I have been on to the county council to get them repainted and extend them down to the SureStart centre, it’s simply not safe.

“We had support from Mick Johnson and Pete Coleman at Classic Print, who did the banner for free and we appreciate their support.”

Nottinghamshire County Council has been approached for comment regarding the yellow lines.

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