An angry dad has set up a blog to show how parents and pupils are dicing with death outside a Nantwich primary school.
Hundreds of photos and videos of chaos outside Stapeley Broad Lane School are published on the “Mad, Scary and Bad” site.
And already more than 1,000 visitors have viewed it just two weeks after it was set up by Matthew Theobald, who walks the journey to Broad Lane every day with his daughter.
Nantwichnews is today running some of these pictures to help support the parents’ battle to have a carpark next to the school built.
Images show traffic snarled up on the road by the school, vehicles driving on pavements and parked on kerbs close to parents and children, parents dashing in and out of traffic, and heavy goods vehicles and large farm machinery using the road at peak times, inches away from pupils on pavements.
Matthew said: “Every day I’ve walked my daughter to school for four years, sometimes taking our lives in our hands. I’m fed up with it.
“Cheshire East didn’t seem to understand the problems that are occuring every day. I knew parents had taken a lot of pictures of the problems so I decided to pull all these in to one site.
“I’ve been subject to abuse by drivers shouting obscene language and gestures because they want to drive on the pavement to get past and we are walking on it.
“It’s bad enough for adults, but no child should have to hear or put up with that.”
In each post on http://trafficchaos.wordpress.com/ he rates traffic volume, stupid/careless parking, and manners of drivers. He also notes illegally parked vehicles.
Stapeley mum Helen Hewitt has contributed many of the pictures to the blog.
She said: “I have an 11-year-old girl who has just left Broad Lane, and another in year 1, so that’s seven years’ experience of this road which is so dangerous.
“I really fear the situation is going to be compounded with the proposed entry and exit road onto Broad Lane for the planned Muller housing development of more than 1,000 homes.”
Stapeley Broad Lane headteacher Ian Shackleton said he understood parents’ frustrations as the school has been trying for a car park for 15 years.
He told Nantwichnews: “We know that within the parent body there is great distress at some of the incidents that have taken place. We should not be having those sorts of things outside any school.
“All schools have parking problems but because we are on a busy A road it makes it a lot worse. The school is the biggest it has ever been in numbers of pupils because of its reputation.
“It’s not a good situation and hopefully the pressure that the parents are putting on and supporting the planning application with their comments, it will help.”
If the car park plans are approved, Mr Shackleton hopes it could be operational before the end of the current school year.
The application is due before the planning committee next Wednesday October 10.
The diocese is selling the school house next to the school to help fund the building of the car park.
(pics courtesy of Helen Hewitt)
Fabulous news, Cheshire East planning committee has, this afternoon, unanimously approved plans for a school car park.
It’s a great result for everyone who has put so much hard work into the plans and campaign.
Thank you for highlighting our problems on Nantwich News.
Sometimes the still shots dont quite capture the severity of the situation. Ive uploaded this video of the traffic onto youtube to give people a better idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_5Ud82WVq4&feature=relmfu