With school children across the county back in the classrooms after their half term break, Nottinghamshire County Council has made a further investment to prevent dangerous and inconsiderate parking outside schools.
The vast majority of parents park considerately when picking up or dropping off their children, but there continues to be a genuine parking problem outside many schools which can seriously jeopardise road safety for children and is a significant source of complaints.
Since March 2016, Nottinghamshire County Council has operated a CCTV camera car to help enforce ‘Keep Clear’ markings outside school premises, and with around 330 schools spread across the county we receive high levels of demand for this vehicle from head teachers, parents and others in local communities.
So, the Council has now invested in a second CCTV camera car to meet this demand. I must make clear that our purpose in using a car-based enforcement system is not to raise revenue, in fact the existing CCTV car runs at a slight financial deficit for the Council. Our aim is to improve safety and stop dangerous and inconsiderate parking near schools and bus stops, which we know causes a great deal of concern.
Latest figures show that 1500 penalty charge notices have been issued over the last two years or so, with around two-thirds of notices served for parking dangerously and inconsiderately on ‘Keep Clear’ markings outside schools and a third on bus stops. Parking which prevents a bus from picking or dropping off at a bus stop is a real issue, as it can cause congestion behind the bus if it is unable to move. In addition, it prevents passengers with mobility problems or pushchairs getting on or off the bus at the raised kerb edge.
We are absolutely committed to ensuring road safety around schools in the county and this additional camera car will significantly increase our capacity to do just that.
Councillor Gordon Wheeler, Vice Chairman of the Communities & Place Committee