Pupils facing traffic danger outside Avenue Road school, says mum
A mother has warned of the traffic dangers that face children and cyclists outside Avenue Junior School in Norwich.
Lizzie Robertson was nearly involved in two accidents with parent drivers who were pulling onto the kerb or braking suddenly when dropping off their children at the school, in Avenue Road.
And she also condemned the number of drivers who are illegally parking on double yellow lines during school runs.
Mrs Robertson, who has a child at the school, said: 'Recently we were walking on the pavement when a car pulled onto the grass verge and crossed over onto the pavement. If it hadn't been for our anticipation of what was going to happen my son would have been knocked down.
'On another occasion, I was cycling away from the school when a car stopped without any indication in front of a junction and dropped off a child. I almost went over my handlebars.'
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Traffic congestion is rife outside Avenue Junior School between 8.30 and 8.50 in the morning and 3.00 and 3.20 in the afternoon, as parents hurry to collect or drop off their children. But the problem is made worse by the narrow road and poor parking facilities, which lead some parents to park illegally outside the school rather than parking further away and walking.
Head teacher of Avenue Junior School, Debbie Dismore, pictured left, said the majority of parents are excellent, but there is a minority that do not follow the rules.
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She said: 'We have no road lollipop lady to do the school crossing since she retired. When we do have someone there, it puts people off from parking on the double yellow lines. I would advise people who see somebody parking illegally to let the school know and remind all children to be vigilant when crossing the road.'
A spokesman for Norwich City Council said traffic restrictions are in place around the school and asked parents to be considerate to each other when picking up and dropping off their children.
Meanwhile, a spokesman from Norfolk Constabulary said: 'Officers regularly carry out patrols in the area and where necessary will issue fixed penalty notices.'
The Evening News runs a Park Safe campaign which urges parents and other drivers not to park dangerously outside schools.
Do you have problems on your school run? Call reporter Ben Woods on 01603 772439 or email ben.woods@archant.co.uk.
