Call for action to end school parking nightmare on Leighton Buzzard’s Brooklands estate
Residents living on Leighton Buzzard’s Brooklands estate claim their lives are being made a misery by parents parking at school pick-up and drop-off times.
They say problems are being caused with regular gridlock around Leedon Lower, Brooklands Middle and Clipstone Lower schools.
Highfield Road resident, Neil Cairns, claimed parents’ parking when dropping off and picking up children from the three schools was ‘becoming lethal’.
He says people are blocking driveways, double parking on double yellow lines and zig-zag lines outside the schools, with no consideration for residents or other drivers.
"The parking of the parents delivering and collecting their offspring from the three schools in the Brooklands estate is becoming lethal,” he said.
“Pavements are blocked by cars parking on them even though there are double yellow lines,“ he said.
He claimed that in a single day outside Brooklands Middle School, he witnessed three cars straddling the yellow zig-zags on to the pavement.
He added: “Along the pavement both sides of the road at Brooklands Middle were dozens of cars on the pavements. The road is too narrow.”
Mr Cairns has written to MP Alex Mayer and his local councillor, adding, that the main problem was Central Beds Council approving the building of six extra classrooms at both lower schools to cater for additional housing.
“We, the residents complained that the number of cars trying to drop off children was then too many, and to add more was courting disaster. Central Beds Council took no notice, the education department said it was not their problem.
“But today, once again we had our driveway blocked by a car. It’s a continuing problem as there simply is not enough road for all the cars to park.
"This is the fault of the education people at Chicksands by building more classrooms at already full schools ( Leedon and Clipstone) to cope with the hundreds of new houses this end of the town.
"We are just 100 yards from Leedon Lower. It is not the schools’ fault, they have no jurisdiction over parents’ actions.”
MP Alex Mayer MP said: “I’ve been contacted by residents concerned about unenforced parking in and around the Brooklands estate.
"The council is responsible for enforcement and has previously told me its officers are monitoring the area, focusing on the three schools, and reviewing the location.
"However, problems remain. The council decides how transport funding from government is used, so it can allocate more enforcement officers or introduce safety measures if it wishes. Police have also advised that the School Streets initiative would allow schools to temporarily close roads at drop-off and pick-up times to improve safety.”
In a response to Alex Myer, a spokesperson for Central Beds Council said: “We are aware that Brooklands Middle School has a travel plan and are actively engaged with parents regarding behaviour and parking at pickup/drop off times. Our officers have tried to engage with both Leedon Lower and Clipstone Brook regarding their travel plans, with no success to date.
"However, I recently asked officers to renew their efforts in reopening those communication lines, and I have asked that one of our road safety officers undertake a review of the location and to make an assessment.”