Mums demand action over dangerous parking outside school

Van drivers repeatedly leave their vehicles on a large corner of the pavement at Sitwell Road and Vincent Road in Sharrow while they visit a nearby shop.

Several mums say the parking is dangerous because they can’t get past on the footpath and it blocks the view if they are trying to cross the road.

Ceri Robertson, whose children are aged six, four and one, has complained repeatedly to councillors and highway officers.

She said: “There are constantly van drivers parking there to use the shop. When I have asked drivers not to park there, they say they are allowed to because there are no restrictions. They use the pavement as a car parking space.

“I reported one van driver to the police because he was so abusive. He called me an effing whining women and told me to shut the eff up and stop moaning. He was given a police warning.

“On another occasion my daughter bumped a van with her shoulder and the van driver yelled at her.”

Ceri says she has lobbied for double yellow lines, bollards and even planters to prevent the parking.

“I have continually asked the council to take action and have been told repeatedly that because of austerity, they don’t have any money.

“It needs a traffic order so people can be fined. At the moment it’s a police matter but the police don’t have the resources to come out every day.

“The council can fine drivers who park on zigzags or yellow lines but if there’s no lines, they can’t do anything.

“This is every single morning and afternoon. It’s an ongoing battle and is ridiculous. The vans are so big and think they own all the pavement.

“It’s not good enough because the road is by a school, we are always being encouraged to walk to school but you can’t get past on the pavement and it’s dangerous crossing the road.”

Fellow mum Sarah Harrison, who has a five-year-old child, said: “I’ve had drivers pull onto the street, with the nose of their car right over the pavement, as I walk with my child and we’ve had to quickly scoot out of the way. I worry it will take someone being knocked down before anything is done.”

Green councillor Alison Teal added: “In Nether Edge they have bollards to protect manhole covers yet they can’t put some on a corner here. A fatality puts a street higher up on the list but it’s terrible that has to happen first before something is done.”

Sheffield Council says it has spoken to Ceri but due to the number of schemes currently needing work across the city, it won’t be able to implement new restrictions immediately.

Tom Finnegan Smith, head of strategic transport, said: “We understand that the current set up is less than ideal and that bollards would help the situation. If there is a possibility of implementing this scheme the opportunity will be taken.

“But making this footway safer requires drivers to show better judgement and take responsibility too. Obstruction of a pavement, in this manner, is illegal and enforceable by the police.

“We have recently introduced new measures to stop parents from idling in their vehicles outside schools. This work continues and we always encourage people to use other ways of taking and collecting their children.”