A Salford pensioner says he's had to fork out £600 - just so he can leave home during the school run. Alan Richardson, who lives by Cadishead Primary School, says parents collecting their children continually block access to his property by parking on double yellow lines.
Now, cameras have now been set up to catch the "selfish and inconsiderate" motorists. Drivers were seen picking up children at about 3pm while parked on double yellow lines intended to preserve vehicle access for residents, preventing locals from leaving their homes.
Alan, 82, said he's had to fork out hundreds to get a drive made so he can get his own car out during the school run. He said: “There are times when I just can’t get off my drive, there are that many cars around.
"It’s prompted me to have a drive made at the front of my house, costing £600.”
He said that other residents have converted their front gardens into driveways so they could park. Valerie Greenhalgh lives opposite the school and said the situation was "crazy".
Valerie said: “It’s crazy how some people park. They’re parking on yellow lines now, so I don’t see that painting more is going to make much difference, if the restrictions are not going to be enforced."
Sue Sinnott, 69, added: “It’s ridiculous. There are people coming here and parking from 2.15pm onwards just so they can get a convenient space near the school. Some of them live within easy walking distance of here. It's madness.
“You can see the line of cars stretching all the way down Moss Side road, some of them parking across people’s driveways.” But she added the extra restrictions would also cause a headache for local residents, some of whom have two or three cars per household and already struggle for spaces to park.
“But it’s no good painting yellow lines around the junctions and then failing to enforce the regulations," she said.
Additional double yellow lines are now also to be painted on other junctions of the narrow roads around the school. It comes after a briefing by Salford City Council’s lead member for planning and sustainable development Coun Mike McCusker.
Coun McCusker acknowledged that enforcement of parking restrictions around double yellow lines was an "issue". He told the Mirror: "But without double yellow lines and zig-zags outside schools, we can't enforce anything.
"We are introducing the cameras on a trial basis and we are currently patrolling two schools where there is a problem. But it takes a while for it [the enforcement action] to have an impact.
"The hope is that imposing parking fines on motorists who break the restrictions will change their behaviour and that word spreads around to other parents. This is very much a trial.
"But I get regular reports of accidents in my role and there is a graph that shows that over a rolling 10-year period there has been a reduction of serious injuries and deaths, so it's going in the right direction. Parking badly near schools can have tragic consequences, even with speeds restricted to 20mph."
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