Bad parking outside Blackpool school is causing problems for buses

Blackpool Council have drafted in civil enforcement officers  to a Blackpool primary school due to ‘illegal and inconsiderate’ parking outside the school.
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Blackpool Council have drafted in civil enforcement officers to a Blackpool primary school due to ‘illegal and inconsiderate’ parking outside the school.

The officers are patrolling outside Stanley Primary School on Wordsworth Avenue following complaints from the school as well bus company Blackpool Transport.

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And the council says the officers will ‘not hesitate’ to fine parents for their bad parking outside the Marton school.

A Blackpool bus trying to navigate around parked carsA Blackpool bus trying to navigate around parked cars
A Blackpool bus trying to navigate around parked cars

It follows reports of a number of cars being left on the Wordsworth Avenue as well as nearby Knutsford Road and Kipling Drive.

The result has meant buses have struggled to get past when parents have been waiting to pick up their children.

The Gazette went down to investigate and found a number of cars on double yellow line and blocking the entrances to residents drives.

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A bus was also left stuck on the corner of Knutsford Road and Kipling Drive due to the amount of vehicles. Some of the vehicles drove onto the pavement to navigate around the single-decker bus.

Cars are parked on the streets by the schoolCars are parked on the streets by the school
Cars are parked on the streets by the school

Shane Grindey, marketing and commercial manager at Blackpool Transport, said drivers have had issues with parking at the school but it isn’t ‘excusive’ to just Stanley Primary.

He said: “We are experiencing issues in that area but it’s not exclusive to just that school.

“The main reasons this has been happening is due to parking restrictions at a number of schools which means some parents are arriving early and parking up to get a spot close to the entrance.

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“We work with parking services and school to ensure all parties are not affected in any way.”

Mr Grindey also says the bus company will continue to offer its services near the school despite the issues.

He said: “Our message is to work harmoniously with each other which we do already. We aren’t interest in moving away from the area or redirecting our services as there are a number of people who rely on our buses such as elderly residents and even parents and children from the schools.

“It comes down to reckless parking and not realising that buses need extra room to manoeuvre. We aren’t looking to slam anyone, just people need to be a bit more considerate.

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“It is more of a problem now than it used to be but we aren’t looking to do anything drastic about it, apart from monitoring the situation.”

A spokesman for Blackpool Council told The Gazette that they contacted by the school about the parking as well as Blackpool Transport advising them of the troubles.

The spokesman said: “We have been contacted by both Blackpool Transport Services and Stanley School relating to illegal and inconsiderate parking outside the school.

“To help reduce the risk to school children and tackle the issue of irresponsible and unsafe parking which can also cause road congestion the area is being monitored.

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“Regular patrols by our civil enforcement officers are taking place outside Stanley School and will be undertaken for the forseeable future.

“Our officers will not hesitate to issue fines against vehicles that are parked in prohibited areas.

“We advise everyone who is doing a school run to abide by parking regulations and be considerate to other road users and pedestrians.”

Parents doing the primary school run has become more common than ever before accoring to motoring organisation RAC.

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A spokesman said: “While the vast majority of school kids used to walk to school, these days more and more children are driven to the gates by their parents.

“In 2014 the Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey revealed that 46 per cent of primary school pupils and 23 per cent of secondary school students travel to school in the car, making it the second most popular mode of transport for schoolchildren after walking.”

Stanley Primary School was contacted for comment.