Drivers urged to park safe during school run
Main article content
As children go back to school, police in Welwyn Garden City are reminding parents to help ensure the school run remains safe for everyone.
Earlier this year, officers identified parking issues around schools in the area as a concern to local people following feedback via our echo system.
The Welwyn Hatfield Safer Neighbourhood Team prioritised this issue around schools including Applecroft, Stanborough, St Mary’s, Peartree and Swallow Dell and set tackling issues as a local policing priority.
In response officers patrolled the areas around schools at drop off and pick up times, issuing verbal warning to drivers parked dangerously or illegally.
At the end of the school term, the team organised an operation with the fire service to educate drivers on the risks of dangerous parking. Watch Commander Jack Semple and his team at the fire service attempted to drive a fire engine outside the schools while PCs Marianne Broughton and Diana Vickers both patrolled in a police van. The teams were able to clearly demonstrate the difficulty that inconsiderate parking presents for emergency service vehicles responding to incidents.
PC Broughton said: “We have been working closely with the schools on this matter and with the children going back to school now, we want to remind parents and carers to park sensibly.
“Going forwards, we will be issuing tickets to vehicles that are parked dangerously or illegally.
“Please make the effort to learn about the parking options in your school’s area and find where you can and cannot park. Consider leaving earlier or picking up your child(ren) later. Perhaps have a meeting point on a residential street nearby without parking restrictions.
“We appreciate that school pick-up/drop-off time can be stressful, especially if you are rushing to work but please don’t let that be an excuse for dangerous parking. As our operation showed, it could be the reason why somebody needing emergency help is left waiting.”
To receive police messages about a range of topics including burglaries, scams and missing people in your local area, sign up to OWL (opens in a new window) or download the ‘OWL crime alerts’ app from your app store.
You can use our community voice platform ‘echo’ to let us know what you think we should be prioritising in your area. Your feedback will help towards shaping our local policing priorities, initiatives and campaigns. Visit the following and tell us your thoughts.