Missed cancer appointments, bins not collected and residents unable to leave for work are among the issues raised
School-run parking in Ainsdale Drive, Mayfair Drive and Birkdale Drive(Image: Andrea and Gary Oakley)
Once ‘peaceful’ Sale cul-de-sacs are being plagued by inconsiderate school parking, residents claim.
Bin collections are regularly missed, a cancer patient has been unable to get to her appointments and a local NHS worker has been late for his shift as a result of the ongoing issue, they said. Those living in the roads also fear ambulances and fire engines would be unable to access the street in an emergency.
The problems started when a new ‘school streets’ scheme was introduced outside Tyntesfield Primary School, in Alma Road, in September last year. The initiative is intended to improve school-run safety and was implemented after three children ‘were hit by moving vehicles’ in Alma Road, the school has said.
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School-run parking in Ainsdale Drive, Mayfair Drive and Birkdale Drive(Image: Andrea and Gary Oakley)
Headteacher, Kathryn Manion added school leaders have spoken to residents about displaced traffic and have ‘repeatedly asked parents to park safely and considerately’.
However, residents in Ainsdale Drive, Mayfair Drive and Birkdale Drive feel problem parking has just been ‘pushed up the road’ as a result, and it is them who are paying the price for it.
Cancer patient Angela Roberts, 79, attends The Christie hospital for treatment and scans. She no longer drives and depends on taxis and ambulances to take her to appointments.
Mrs Roberts says she has missed appointments because the school-run parking has left her lifts unable to get to her home. On other occasions, she has had to be loaded in and out of an ambulance into the road, rather than in front of her home.
The stress of not knowing whether the street will be accessible is taking a toll.
Mrs Roberts said: “[I’ve had a problem] getting to appointments at least a dozen times. They don’t care.
“Sometimes I come back at 3.30pm, you’re relying on the ambulance bringing you back, and you can’t get in. They’re trying to drop you off and you just can’t.”
“Stress is the worst killer for cancer,” she added.
Fears over emergency service access was a repeated concern in the street. Retiree Martin Kelly, 74, said: “If emergency services need to come down, they’ve got no chance. The fire brigade or ambulance, if anybody needs one God forbid, just because the road’s too narrow to get through with the cars parked.”
Andrea and Gary Oakley, Ainsdale Drive residents(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
Andrea and Gary Oakley have lived in Ainsdale Drive for around 28 years. For 27 of those, their road was ‘peaceful’, they told the Manchester Evening News. But that is no longer the case.
Double parking, pavement parking and vehicles left on junction corners are all contributing to the issues they face, the couple said. Parents pushing buggies are having to walk in the road because the path is unpassable, cars cannot get into the streets causing delays on the main road and residents, including a local NHS worker, have been unable to get out of their driveways in the morning.
Bin lorries are also regularly unable to access the cul-de-sacs, they claimed. The Manchester Evening News has seen emails from Mr and Mrs Oakley to Trafford Council leader Tom Ross and to contractor Amey flagging four missed collections since the start of the year.
In one response, the council leader assured Mrs Oakley the collection route had been changed to avoid school drop-off times, but bins were again not collected just two weeks later. On other occasions, bin lorries are having to wait 10 minutes or more just to gain access, the couple claimed.
Mrs Oakley said: “We never, ever had a missed bin collection [before the scheme started]. The bin wagons are coming down and, because the cars park on all the corners, they can’t come and pick it up.
“So then they’re either having to wait or come back. Well, the council are running out of money, they’re going bankrupt, so that bin wagon has been here and waited and then gone away and it has to come back another day.
“There’s a cost to that. The implications of it all are ridiculous.”
School-run parking in Ainsdale Drive, Mayfair Drive and Birkdale Drive(Image: Andrea and Gary Oakley)
Residents feel ‘fobbed off’
Mrs Oakley has repeatedly invited Coun Ross to come out to see it for himself. The pair feel they have been ‘fobbed off’.
Mrs Oakley added: “I sympathise with the parents because they’re being pushed into that predicament. All they’re interested in is getting children to school.
“I think the onus here really lies with the council and the school to make proper safe provision for all these children to get to school and all they’ve done is push the problem away. They’ve just moved the problem further along.”
It is not just the impacts on those living in the street that residents are worried about, however. They also fear a child will be injured as a result of the ‘dangerous’ situation.
Mr Kelly said: “This corner’s very dangerous. Cars park right on the corners, so if I’m driving out I can’t see […]
“It’s madness the way they park. They’re up on the curbs. They blocked both sides of the roads. The council needs to do something.”
Mrs Oakley added: “There’ll be a big hoo-ha when, on one of these side streets, somebody gets knocked down and injured because of it.”
Local residents have suggested alternative options to help ease the problem, including opening up the school playground for parking at pick-up and drop-off times or setting up an arrangement with the nearby Woodheys Social Club, in Washway Road, to let parents use their car park.
Parking permits and yellow lines stopping parking at school-run times were also repeatedly raised as potential solutions.
Birkdale Drive outside of school-run times(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
What the school has to say
The Manchester Evening News approached both Tyntesfield Primary School and Trafford council with residents’ concerns, and asked them what actions they have and will be taking to find a solution. We further asked what steps they were taking to ensure children were safe on the school run.
Ms Manion said: “We have a lot of support from our neighbours for our School Street initiative which was introduced because three children had been hit by moving vehicles on Alma Road and required hospital treatment. The scheme was singled out for praise in our latest Ofsted inspection, where we were rated outstanding in all areas.
“The children had shared with inspectors how positive they thought it was, and how happy they were that they had a School Street, because of how safe they feel.”
She added: “We have talked to a small number of nearby residents about problems with displaced traffic. In response to concerns, we have repeatedly asked parents to park safely and considerately.
“We have also talked about the issue during assemblies and classes. To ensure clear expectations are established early, we include information about responsible parking and safe driving in our induction packs, and we speak directly to new parents about this during open events.
(Image: Andrea and Gary Oakley)
“When individual concerns arise, we contact parents directly to discuss these and reiterate the school’s expectations. School leaders are outside school most mornings, positively reinforcing safe behaviours with families.
“Last month our pupils made ‘parking tickets’ to put on the windscreens of any vehicles found parking inconsiderately but there were very few. As part of our ongoing strong commitment to keeping children safe, we take a comprehensive and proactive approach to promoting safe travel.
“Alongside our regular road safety assemblies with Trafford Community Collective and the curriculum work that embeds safe travel education, we run Bikeability for older children, which helps pupils to develop the skills and confidence needed to travel safely and responsibly on the roads.”
Stephen Adshead, Trafford council’s executive member for highways, environmental and traded services said: “The idea of a School Street was recommended as a way to keep pupils safer after the school reported that children had been injured in traffic collisions near to the school. School Streets are a proven way of keeping children safe around the school gates.
“Since this School Street opened, data gathered by Trafford Community Collective has shown that the percentage of pupils walking, wheeling or cycling to school has risen from 34 per cent to 81 per cent, meaning school traffic has decreased significantly. This is the biggest ‘modal shift’ in transport methods of any of Trafford’s seven School Streets. A school crossing patrol on Washway Road also helps to keep children and families safe.
School-run parking in Ainsdale Drive, Mayfair Drive and Birkdale Drive(Image: Andrea and Gary Oakley)
“The Council’s highways team and Trafford Community Collective have been monitoring the situation following residents’ concerns about parking and their ideas for solutions. We are working with residents, the school and TfGM on possible ways forward.
“The One Trafford Partnership collects 99.8pc of bins on time in Trafford and there can be many reasons for missed collections. Around this school, our bin wagon crews do their best to time their arrival when the road is clear.”