New plans to restrict waiting outside a Lichfield school have been branded “dangerous and problematic”.
Proposals have been drawn up to impose a no waiting at any time outside the Friary School on Eastern Avenue.
The move comes ahead of the opening of the new police headquarters which will see emergency vehicles exiting the site.
But a statement from The Friary School said the changes would cause major issues for parents.
“All parents who drop off and pick up will be aware that there is a 15 minute window at the start and end of the day where it can be a little hectic outside the school, but with many families travelling significant distances from our large catchment area they have little option,” a school spokesperson said.
“It is hard to imagine any school not being busy at certain times, but with staff on duty and the zebra crossings, we can help ensure children are safe as we have a realistic area to supervise.
“These new plans will make busy arrangements a great deal more dangerous and problematic for both families and residents.
“We wholly disagree with this proposal.”
A consultation process began in December and will close on January 15.
In a letter outlining the plans, Sandeep Aheer, senior transport planner at Staffordshire County Council said: “This scheme will ensure that traffic flow along Eastern Avenue is not obstructed by parked vehicles and will help maintain a safe access and egress from the new police building development.”
But a spokesperson for the school said safety of pupils would be impacted if the changes get the go-ahead.
“Last term a student was seriously injured in a road accident while walking down unpaved parts of Eastern Avenue,” the school added. “This plan will see hundreds more students having to walk down narrow or non-existent walkways.
“This issue appears to be compounded by the fact that the decision has been made to have blue-light, emergency call-outs coming right down this road.
“The proposals are tied to the setting up of the new police facilities on Eastern Avenue which unfortunately have been poorly designed so that police vehicles have to leave the site on blue-light emergency call-outs right beside the main gates and zebra crossing of our 1,000 student secondary school, rather than on the A51 on the other side of the building.
“With the consultation being run over the Christmas period we would urge parents to get involved and oppose this change.
“There are clear road markings protecting the police site entrance and exit so there should be no parking blockages and the police will be best placed to deal with any individual parent who does not comply with road markings.
“It is difficult to understand why a police officer could not leave the building for half an hour a day for the first couple of weeks to ensure arrangements bed in well.”
County Councillor Helen Fisher, Cabinet support member for highways and transport said: “We are currently consulting on a proposal for a traffic regulation order (TRO) in this area, as a result of planning permission being granted to Staffordshire Police for the building of new police facilities.
“These are only proposals at the moment – we want to hear what local people think and would encourage them to respond to the consultation which ends on January 15.
“The responses will then be reviewed before a final decision is made on whether to implement the order under the usual TRO process.”
People can send their responses to the consultation over the plans by sending an email titled Eastern Avenue TRO to highways@staffordshire.gov.uk.
