GRIDLOCK around a temporary school in Barnsley town centre has prompted action to be taken - after parents were recorded blocking a one-way system by parking on double yellow lines.
Eastgate, which connects to Regent Street, became home to Trinity Academy St Edward’s in September - but the single-lane road has since become clogged at drop-off and pick-up times.
Having been granted temporary permission for a two-year stay at Eastgate House while its new premises is built on Broadway, Kingstone, school leaders told the Chronicle they are aware of the issues and are working alongside Barnsley Council to address the matter.
Principal Mark Allen said: “We would like people to accept our apologies for any disruption this is causing.
“As an academy we appreciate the difficult situation drop-off and pick-up creates and want to work with the local council and businesses to try and minimise the impact.
“We have proactively asked parents not to stop on the double yellow lines and will continue to do so.
“We are working with the council and seeking help from the local parking attendants to aid the policing of these times.
“We will be liaising with the local authority’s transport department regarding the potential use of traffic cones at pick-up and drop-off times to prevent parents parking in front of the school.
“We have a supportive set of parents and I know they will support the academy and local businesses by adhering to the parking rules and not stopping outside the front of the school.
“We will continue to communicate with parents and the local authority to monitor the situation and take any further steps, as necessary.”
A matter which has affected many locations across the borough, walk-to-school initiatives, regular newsletters, police patrols and even petitions have so far failed to deter parents from clogging up streets.
Councillors have expressed dismay at the situation, which they believe will be exacerbated by St Edward’s welcoming another 180 children - effectively doubling its capacity - in September.
“Unfortunately for a multitude of reasons, we couldn’t set up temporary classrooms at the new school site on Broadway, and we had a bit of a rush to find a suitable alternative,” Mark added.
“Thankfully Barnsley College came forward and offered us the use of the Eastgate House building.
“Fortunately, the Department for Education approved us a £1m grant to facilitate improvement works at the site.”
However, recent parking chaos has prompted the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership (SYSRP) to issue a warning to parents and carers at pick-up and drop-off times, after work was carried out by highways bosses earlier this year to reduce traffic on roads surrounding Barnsley’s schools.
“We appreciate that people can be in a rush in a morning and that getting children to school on time can be hard work,” a spokesperson said.
“It is extremely important that you don’t park in restricted areas including the keep clear zig-zags or double yellow lines.
“Parked cars outside schools can be a hazard and stopping on the yellow lines puts children at risk.
“We all have a responsibility to keep ourselves and others safer on the roads.”
