Call for traffic wardens to stop bad parking around Crawley schools

Concerns have been raised about the number of illegally parked cars around Crawley schools

Concerns for the safety of children at dropping off and home time have also prompted the borough council to call on West Sussex County Council to fund more wardens.

At a town hall meeting on Wednesday evening (July 18) Kim Jaggard (Con, Maidenbower) said she had been contacted by Maidenbower Junior School about the problem and was ‘shocked’ by what she saw.

Mrs Jaggard said she saw cars double parked, parked on double yellow lines, on the nearby roundabout, on pavements and on the zigzag lines outside the school.

Maidenbower Junior School was cited as one location where there was a problem with parking

Tabling a notice of motion aimed at dealing with the problem, she added: “The head has repeatedly asked parents to be more considerate and park in one of the three nearby car parks but still they want to park as close as possible to the school gates.

“I know this is a problem right across our town outside all of our primary schools.

“Even when we work with our county colleagues to extend the zigzag yellow lines, this has little effect unless it is enforced. Enforcement is the key and more regular patrols would help.”

There was unanimous support for her call for traffic wardens to take their patrol routes past the schools at pick-up and drop-off times – but with only so many staff on the books and 27 schools to cover there would be a limit to what they could achieve.

Kim Jaggard submitted the notice of motion calling for action on bad parking around the town's schools

So members also agreed to ‘make a strong case’ to the county council to fund more wardens.

While the wardens are paid for by the county, they display the borough’s logo on their uniforms because Crawley acts as the enforcement authority.

Mrs Jaggard said: “Residents see traffic wardens with the Crawley Borough Council logo on their hi-vis tops and they expect us to sort out the issue – not to pass the buck, not to say it’s not our responsibility – it’s the children’s safety that is at stake.

“This can only be achieved by effective enforcement of the traffic regulations.”