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Sometimes you have to join school run
• I WALK my children to school and yet still support the Schools Travel Action Group’s (Stag’s) position on this matter. Far from being selfish, parents simply want (and need) a safe, realistic means of getting their children to school.
I understand that the Stag and Traffic Working Group (TWG) proposals include not only keeping a realistic level of parking permits, but also a higher charge for such permits, the revenues from which would be ring-fenced to fund green travel alternatives such as school buses, walking school buses and shuttle buses.
School-run parking permits have already been drastically reduced (they are now at 40 per cent of the original level of three or four years ago) and, from my observation, there has been no visible improvement in congestion during school-run times.
Indeed, the walk to school is getting scarier as parents are being forced to park illegally and/or circle schools if they have lost their permits.
Contrary to popular belief, schools have indeed been informing parents of the permits policy for many years. The problem is that parents don’t have many schools outside Hampstead to choose from. The few good schools that do exist outside the Fitzjohn’s area are heavily oversubscribed so parents can’t get their children into them.
Scratch card permits would enable parents like myself to drive safely and park legally on the one school journey out of 10 or 20 for which the car is truly needed.
Many parents do not drive 4x4s. Many parents walk and take public transport as much as possible (like ourselves) but it simply must be recognised that this is not possible for all parents all the time, especially for the youngest, those who live furthest away or those who have work and other commitments apart from ferrying children to and from school.
Traffic gets better in school holidays partly because commuters are away on holiday as well.
CATHERINE BOYD
(Address supplied) NW3
• PERHAPS because of some of the measures already in place, the problem of school-run congestion is now well within bearable proportions. There is no need for any further constraints.
One constraint is the reduction of parking dispensation permits. This should be put on hold. The recent Budget has penalised giant vehicles and we should wait to see if this results in a switch to small electric cars.
The other supposed constraint is the installation of “tables” at road junctions. Within a mile of my home I can think of at least eight of these “tables” which are a total waste of money. Most are at T-junctions, where cautious traffic has almost to stop anyway. To reckless drivers, these shallow “tables” provide no pause whatever.
Repair of potholes should take priority.
JM WOBER
Lancaster Grove, NW3 |
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