Letter: Petition to Review New Parking Restrictions at School

Published on: 26 Jul, 2019
Updated on: 26 Jul, 2019

From Julia Shaw

The new parking charges at Sutherland Memorial Park [Burpham] are yet another example of hidden costs that impact our future generation’s educational prospects. The park has been used for many years by parents of the local primary school to enable them to drop off and collect their children in safety without having to use the heavily congested Burpham Lane, with all the exhaust fumes.

The previous status quo reduced vehicle traffic in the confined area around the school gates to minimise the impact on neighbouring residents as well as reducing danger for the children. At present, there is no safe drop-off spot at the school so using Sutherland Memorial Park, with children doing the safe three-minute walk to school has been essential.

With introduction of the “no return same day” restrictions, it is no longer possible for parents to legally use the car park for both drop-offs and pick-ups, with the same car, without paying the parking fee. Many parents cannot walk or cycle with their children to school.

I have two children to drop off in different directions then continue down the A3 to work. Effectively, this “no return same day” will put a further price tag of £900 on my child’s education per year, if I decide to use this car park as a drop-off point twice a day.

I could congest the roads closer to the school gates, but I do not feel this is fair on the local residents and on the other parents trying to get their children to school safely.

Additionally, the parking has historically been used by the staff at Burpham Primary School due to limited onsite parking, and the new restrictions will therefore lead to an increased financial burden on some of the staff.

If you feel these restrictions are dangerous and unfair, please sign the petition below which asks the council again to change the restriction of “No return same day”.

The only chance to get the parking position “reviewed” is to get 300 (ideally 500) petition signatures by the end of this week. Otherwise, charges and restrictions will be in force until the next annual review. This parking restriction was probably introduced for a particular reason but the wider impact on the schools, staff and parents around may not have been taken into consideration and this petition is trying to help highlight this issue.

http://www2.guildford.gov.uk/councilmeetings/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=28