Police operation tackles parking outside St John’s schools
12/03/2010 12:01:18
An operation to tackle parking outside schools in the St John’s area of Woking has this week proved to be an education for drivers on the school run.
There has been concern raised by local residents about the issue of motorists flouting the law, disrupting the neighbourhood and showing lack of concern for the safety of pupils. Officers from the borough’s Safer Neighbourhood team were joined by colleagues from the roads policing unit yesterday (Monday, 8 March) when they attended outside Winston Churchill School and the Hermitage Junior School.
As a result of the activity five motorists were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) of £30 for parking on Amstel Way which is an urban clearway and one motorcyclist was issued with an endorsable FPN for a deficiency on a bike as it was in the Gorsewood Road area.
The operation saw 15 more drivers being given words of advice in relation to the manner in which they were parked and a further car owner given a warning about the condition of car tyres.
Woking borough’s Casualty Reduction Officer PC Chris Wilkes said he was encouraged by the reaction of the majority of motorists who when they were spoken to agreed there was a need to ensure road and public safety together with adherence to the law.
He said: “The operation was a positive exercise which aimed to educate those collecting their children from school. We are working with youngsters themselves with the Community Speedwatch scheme and this activity is aimed at those who no longer attend classes themselves but need to be kept aware of what is expected of them in relation to road safety.”
PCSO Adam Coombs who co-ordinated the project said this week’s operation is the first of an ongoing series to address the behaviour of parents. He said: “The aim of the awareness campaign is to keep people thinking of where they should park, how they should drive and what specific skills they should be demonstrating when they are driving and parking around school sites. Working with motorists and the schools themselves should help what is always an issue on our busy roads. The activities are supported by the majority and I am aware that a school governor came forward yesterday to comment on the good work undertaken by the team.”
Surrey Police is working in partnership with Surrey County Council in a year long campaign to tackle the problem of anti-social driving. Drive SMART is one of the first initiatives by Dr Andrew Povey, Leader of Surrey County Council, who has pledged £1 million to the scheme.