Dundee parents have called for a clampdown on irresponsible parking at a city school after a child was almost hit by a car.
Mum Lizzie McDaid said her 10-year-old daughter, Summer Hill, narrowly avoided a collision when leaving Rosebank Primary School in the Coldside campus.
The 40-year-old mum said there have been problems with dangerous parking since the building opened three years ago.
Lizzie fears a child is going to be seriously hurt if action isn’t taken.
She says problems at the school, where her daughters Summer and Blossom attend, include double parking, stopping on zig-zag lines and heavy traffic.
“The parking is absolutely ridiculous,” she said.
“Me and my friends just went to pick my girls up from school and one of my kids was nearly run over.
“I had to report it to the police.
“One of these kids is going to get seriously hurt.”
She added: “It’s an absolute nightmare, something serious is going to happen up there.”
Earlier this year Dundee City Council approved plans to introduce part-time driving bans at six schools.
They prevent traffic from travelling around the schools from 8.30am to 9.15am and from 3pm to 3.30pm on school days.
Fintry Primary School was the first to have the ban imposed, with surrounding streets Finavon Terrace, Findcastle Street, Findcastle Place and Findcastle Terrace all affected.
Parents and local residents of the Fintry had mixed reactions to the ban, with questions as to whether blue badge holders would be exempt from the ban.
The council has still not confirmed whether they will be exempt.
There are plans to introduce similar bans at other city schools, including Coldside campus, in the coming years.
Lizzie, who is a disabled blue badge holder herself, fears the ban will create issues for her picking up her children and will create more problems than they would solve.
She said: “The parking ban is going to be hard because that’s going to be on two main roads.
“I’ve got a disability and I have to drive so if I’m picking the kids up I can’t walk.”
‘Not good enough’
Mum Fiona Turgul, 43, said more needs to be done to clamp down on poor parking around the school.
Fiona said: “It’s just crazy, people are just so irresponsible.
“They’ll double park, triple park, park on the school markings – kids don’t have anywhere safe to cross.
“I think the parking ban is a good idea, as long as there are exemptions for disabled people.”
The council confirmed that a driving ban at Coldside Campus, which includes Rosebank and Our Lady, won’t be enforced until 2022/2023.
Fiona said the given date is “not good enough”.
“How many children have to get run over?” she asked.
“It’s just a matter of time I think.
“I don’t understand why parents themselves don’t choose to be more pro-active and not park on the school markings.
“They have their own children, you’d think they must know it’s dangerous.”
Council asks parents to ‘act sensibly’
A council spokesperson said: “The safety of pupils is paramount and as such for a number of years we have been encouraging drivers to act sensibly around schools and not cause danger to children.
“The introduction and proposed roll out of the Safer School Streets programme, which should be brought in at Coldside Campus during financial year 2022/23, is a further positive step.
“There are also a number of traffic management measures in place at our schools to deter people from parking illegally, and each school has a Safer Route map which highlights parking zones that help cut congestion.
“There are always alternatives, such as parking further away from school and encouraging children to walk the rest of the way, if you have to bring your car.
“The city council works with a range of partners, including Police Scotland, to monitor the situation.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a report of dangerous driving on Alexander Street in Dundee around 4pm on Friday October 1, 2021.
“Inquiries are ongoing.”