Some parents have been branded ‘selfish’ for their antisocial parking around West Sussex schools.
The issue was raised during a county council scrutiny committee meeting on Wednesday (November 26) where school crossing patrol vacancies were discussed.
Jo Spear, a co-opted parent governor, from Worthing, said parents were parking on double yellow lines and in keep clear zones because they wanted to stop as close to schools as possible.
She reported that traffic wardens were ‘terrified to ticket people because of the abuse that they receive’ and that her school’s lollipop lady had almost been run over ‘several times’.
Ms Spear said: “I don’t know how you get through to some parents because they are very selfish in that line.”
A report to the committee said that the budget for crossing staff looked set to be £50,000 underspent by the end of the financial year.
Andy McGregor (Con, Lancing) said that 1,190 children in the UK were injured each month within 500 metres of their schools.
He reported that there were 46 vacancies currently listed for school crossing patrols in the county – more than half of which had been vacant for more than four years.
As a boy, Mr McGregor saw one of his classmates killed on a road on the way home from school. He said: “We really need to do something. Children are being injured within a short distance of their schools. We have 46 risky crossings that we are not manning as a county council.”
Responsibility for school crossing patrol falls within the highways & transport portfolio.
It was suggested by Alison Cornell (Lab, Langley Green & Ifield East) that some of the surplus budget could be used to create zebra crossings and the like close to schools.
The idea was supported by Sujan Wickremaratchi, who said something was already being looked at for Franklynn Road, Haywards Heath, near St Wilfrid’s Primary School.
John Dabell (Con East Grinstead Meridian) said that some schools were using teachers to guide youngsters across the road, because they couldn’t find anyone to fill the role.
He added: “These crossing patrols have been working since the 1950s but are they working any more?”
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