School Traffic Hassles

How can I get school run motorists to observe ordinary decent personal privacy in the vicinity of my humble abode ?
Our entrance gate is regularly blocked at school times. People just pull up, offload the kids, lock the car and walk the rest of the way to schoolgates and up the avenue etc with the kids. Some time later they dart back to the car head down ignoring my glare as I seek to exit my driveway only to be blocked by their vehicle which they now drive away without as much as an apologetic acknowledgement.
I used to cut the grass and plant flowers on the council's grass strip outside my gate but gave this up after 3 years because the school motorists constantly drove through the flower patch, broke the protective markers and very frequently drove onto the flower patch and parked right there on top of it.
Some of my neighbours tried remonstrating with offenders but backed off when intimidated. One neighbour had all his rose bushes broken overnight on the day he confronted a local damsel who had obstructed his gateway.
What can I do ?

Ask your local authority to paint double yellow lines?

Park your own car there?

Have you tried contacting the school authorities to see if they can request parents to respect the local area when dropping off/collecting their kids?

If you observe illegal parking then just make it a habit to call the clampers.

OP, I can sympathise with you. I have a similar problem but it applies to my workplace - we are next door to a school (ours is a driveway with electric gates) and every morning there are parents parked in front of our gates "just for a second" and 3.30 is a nightmare. I have complained to the school in the past but it made no difference in our case. We would call the clampers but they move on within minutes and the road is always so busy at the time (ten to nine and twenty past three) that it is pointless. There are double yellow lines in place already - again, the parents logic is that they are only stopped for a minute. I'll be interested if there is a solution to this problem!

As far as I know you can call the Guards if someone is blocking your exit. Its illegal AFAIK. Ask them to send a guard up at school times.

Could you get the local authority to make the area no parking between certain times, and get them to clamp cars parked illegally.

similiar problem near me. I just leave before the rush to avoid the whole confrontation and general ignorance of the loads of people carriers! Afterall its only for about 20 mins in morning and 20 mins in afternoon. Annoying I know but there'll never be a resolution. Double lines make no difference.

Ask your local authority to paint double yellow lines?

Park your own car there?
* Well, there are already D/Yellow lines on the road painted there over 2 years ago but these have no effect on the morning or evening mindset of school pick-up drivers. Our local community Garda tried to get the message across at a Parents meeting in the school and which she (the Garda) had been invited to address. All she got for her trouble was a slagging about the lack of speed cameras on a nearby road, the worsening drug problem and what should be done with people who drink cider in a nearby laneway at weekends. The school have done their bit by posting up notices and even sending home notes with the kids but again to no avail.

We are at our wits end with this behaviour. The flower patch is now churned up very badly now and I feel like putting it right for the summer but I know it will be treated with utter derision come school time again. I know most parents are not contributing to the problem but those that do seemingly can't be corrected.

I have a much admired front garden but I just know I will be targeted if I put my head over the parapet on this one.

I can sympathise with you having lived opposite GAA fields and having cars parked in our garden, opposite our entrance and even in the driveway on occasion! We tried councillors, the gardai, leaving flyers on cars and nothing worked. We moved in the end it was getting so stressful. On one occasion a fire engine couldn't get down the road because of abandoned cars from the parents!

Get some stickers printed saying that this kind of parking is causing problems in the area by blocking gates and driving over flower beds and ask that this car does not park here again . Make sure that the adhesive on the stickers is very sticky.
Place the stickers on the drivers side of the windscreen.

Put 3 plastic bollards outside?

Concerning the placing of traffic bollards or other barrier type thing to preserve the space opposite my gate, the Gardai have told me that while it's done by some , it ios illegal since the public roadway is not my property.
The sticker idea is good though and I'll get some of them although my neighbour says I'd be lucky not to get a puck in the gob at some stage from a distressed driver who would no doubt allege that I was "interfering" with his/her car.
I really appreciate the suggestions and hope I can get more. Thanks folks.

1John said:

who would no doubt allege that I was "interfering" with his/her car.

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And who would presumably be correct too! Tips encouraging people to engage in practices of questionable legality to address this problem are not really a good idea...

theoneill said:

Maybe you could just park in front of your own driveway. That should be legal and you’d be blocking nobody but yourself.

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Suggested earlier:

RS2K said:

Park your own car there?

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Its a public road, but its illegal to block an exit. I think the only think to do is put your own car across the exit. It would be illegal to interfere with someone elses car.

This can't be a new problem though. Its not like a school appeared there one day with no warning. I wonder what would be legality of clamping someone blocking your exit and then calling the cops. Then again if they only stay there a few minutes its is that much of a hardship just to wait that long?

Have you and your neighbours considered what I suggested earlier about contacting the school authorities to discuss the issue in case they can help with influencing parents'/guardians' driving/parking habits?

Yes, we have spoken to the school authorities and they have tried to create an awareness among the parents of the problems at the school gate but they tell me that it invariably gets trivialised by the majority of parents who are pursuing their own hobby horses. (See Post No 7 above)
When we bought the house and moved here a few years back, school car traffic here was a small but tolerable problem. Trouble is that in today's world this kids' transportation thing has grown into a monster. Seems to me there's hardly a kid walking to school anymore plus the cars get bigger and bigger. And all the wet weather means that the parents want to do the drop right at the school gate thereby compounding the problem.
If we don't find a way to get relief I'm thinking the only remedy would be to move house.

1John said:

If we don't find a way to get relief I'm thinking the only remedy would be to move house.

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Seems a bit drastic!? Are you sure that you're not overreacting to what may be a real inconvenience but not actually a house moving issue?

1John said:

Some time later they dart back to the car head down ignoring my glare as I seek to exit my driveway only to be blocked by their vehicle which they now drive away without as much as an apologetic acknowledgement.

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To be fair many people are probably not going to respond to something as subtle as a glare.

Would there be any point in asking the school authorities if a deputation from the residents' committee could address a parent-teacher meeting in order to try and find a solution to the problem?

Do you know members of the school management committee? Lobby them collectively, in person, by letter, by phone for help in resolving the problem. They after all are the people responsible for the operation of the school.

I think you've two problems:
1. Parking, blocking your drive way - illegal
2. Parking on the verge, damaging plants and on double yellow lines

For the first, I've seen the gardai give out parking tickets for lesser offenses where it was someone popping in to the shop, car on the footpath but not blocking an entrance. Might be a bit of easy money for them to be made? Again, I've seen them put notices on cars warning them before giving tickets - this would be where there is a chronic problem but to give people a chance to re-consider what they're doing before hitting them in the pocket.

Also, while I feel for your flowers, I doubt the county council will feel quite the same way. However, if their kerb/verge is being damaged so they need to repair it, or parking is causing safety issues, then some will consider putting in a higher than standard kerb to prevent this. Check with your local councillor if there is anything he/she can do.

Is there an alternative for them to park at? Again - Can you work with the county council/school to help find an alternative. There are cases where they can work with local church to open gates, etc.... to help. Schools have organised walking buses, etc...

You *may* find it improves this year with the rising cost of petrol!

Dem