School parking - in the too hard basket

Why should residents be requesting people not to park cars in a public street, just because it happens to be in front of their home? Since when did these streets become the private property of the residents?

parents won’t let the little darlings walk or ride to school these days as its too dangerous. but that’s because of all the Toorak tractors double parked, blocking crossings, yapping on the phone and the like.

put a 500 metre no-parking barrier around each and every school (primary and high school) for all drop offs and pick ups in the afternoon. The congestion around the school will improve exponentially in a nano second. sure, there might be cars for a short time in nearby streets, but it can be shared across many streets.

but mummy and daddy might moan that it takes them too long – well leave 10 mins earlier in the morning. Once mum realises kids from 8 or 10 years old can walk 500 metres on their own following initial planning and practice, they might deign to let them walk or ride to their local high school.

you know – the way we used to way back when. since when did the kids all get so incapable and/or lazy?

Also a problem at Telopea Park School as even teachers don’t have enough parking. If there is any major school event on like the annual fair its impossible to stop people parking on verges and even in driveways. As its weekends often the police have to be called and of course its low priority for them. If the ACT government can manage traffic at major sporting events at Manuka Oval why cant the do it for schools?

Maya123 said :

Mugga Way gets blocked at times too by parent’ cars, and this is a busy through road. More than once I have come up behind a line of not moving cars blocking this busy throughway, and sat there and sat there. Finally I (and several other cars) did u-turns, in between the traffic coming the opposite direction, to go back and find other routes. How can these parent pick up cars be allowed to block a busy throughway?
Thinking back to when I went to school, there was mostly only a line of school buses outside the school arriving and leaving times; very few cars, as the children who didn’t catch a bus home, up to 50kms in some cases (country school), walked or rode bikes home. And it was a lot less safe to ride a bike there than in Canberra with footpaths.

So Maya123, you are now complaining about parked cars slowing you down whilst cruising in your car on Mugga Way. But just last year, you were admonishing me for my complaints about my nieces very slow and convoluted 40 minute Action bus trip from her home at Monash to the Woden School for Children with a mental disability.

For every kid who gets dropped off just 500 metres away to Canberra Grammar, there’s some other poor kid walking a fair distance and then catching indirect busses from Kambah, Charnwood or Banks etc.

Here’s the previous story to jog your memory.
https://the-riotact.com/is-action-trying-to-do-too-much/162152/comment-page-2

This type of activity is already not allowed under existing laws. Considering the potential for extra revenue and the safety factor (parked cars block the view of small children who may cross onto the road), the ACT government should enforce this better. I’m sure the parents will convince their brats not to do it when they’re handed a huge fine…

Under section 197 of the Australian Road Rules, parking on a bicycle path, footpath, shared path or dividing strip or nature strip adjacent to a length of road in a built-up area is not permitted, unless a vehicle is parked in accordance with a parking control sign in a designated parking area.

I guess the one advantage for Kambah residents when ACT Labor closed 3 Primary Schools, 2 Pre Schools and a High School in the single Suburb of Kambah was ‘it freed up on-street parking’.

Just joking Kambah parents of kids who lost their local school, just joking.

Mugga Way gets blocked at times too by parent’ cars, and this is a busy through road. More than once I have come up behind a line of not moving cars blocking this busy throughway, and sat there and sat there. Finally I (and several other cars) did u-turns, in between the traffic coming the opposite direction, to go back and find other routes. How can these parent pick up cars be allowed to block a busy throughway?
Thinking back to when I went to school, there was mostly only a line of school buses outside the school arriving and leaving times; very few cars, as the children who didn’t catch a bus home, up to 50kms in some cases (country school), walked or rode bikes home. And it was a lot less safe to ride a bike there than in Canberra with footpaths.

I would say that the college students are just following the example set by their parents that drive everywhere, no matter what. Perhaps a perpetuation of the “right to drive”, “me first” attitude of so much of society, which prioritises their own convenience, even if only marginally improved, over anyone else’s or the bigger picture of congestion, overuse, etc.

As in bigred’s example below, parents these days seem incapable of allowing their children to walk/ride/bus to school, despite the streets being safe, the bike-paths plentiful and the bus system perfectly adequate. I’ve no doubt that those same parents are also the posters on here that are likely to drive to the local shop instead of taking a 20min walk, then whinge about all the parking being taken up by people just like them.

I admit to a regular chuckle when I see neighbours driving their SUV the 500 or so metres to the local school to pick up their dearest, pay someone to mow their lawn, claim to have limited funds and then sign up at the local gym to help improve their fitness.

If I was emporer for a day I would try to find a way to charge for using every one of those 500 or so metres at a peak time.