The community of Birmingham, where the “lawless” schools run, has caused major changes in the roads

Moseley residents have welcomed the installation of new bollards to protect children near a local primary school – but many have expressed frustration that such measures are necessary. The bollards were installed on Astor Drive, Moseley, last week to discourage “dangerous” driving and parking near St Bernard’s Catholic Primary School and Moseley School.

Parents described the scenes on the roads around pick-up and school times as “lawless” – with similar concerns raised in areas of the city. Road safety campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham said the parking problems extended to Wake Green Road, adding “bollards shouldn’t be needed to keep children safe – but here we are”.

Local councilor Izzy Knowles said she hoped the new bollards and new drop curbs would make a “real positive difference” to families in the area. But a local headteacher said much more needed to be done to keep children safe, saying it was an “accident waiting to happen”.

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Liberal Democrat councilor Izzy Knowles told BirminghamLive: “I have known for a long time that this is an area where parents park their cars waiting for their children to come out of school. It’s a real problem.

“Parents have spoken to me about their cars being locked and their children at risk, so I’m sure they will be very happy with these changes. the whole problem.”

Peter Foley is headteacher at St Bernard’s Catholic Primary School and has been campaigning for more safety measures to protect his children for “years”. He said: “It is free for all outside our school at pick up and drop off times.

“There are cars constantly going up and down Wake Green Road. It’s frustrating how long it takes to implement any safety measures. My biggest worry is that one of my kids will be killed – it’s just lucky no one has been hit yet. .”

Similar concerns about dangerous parking have been raised in nearby Kings Heath, where parents say drivers are playing “bumper cars” on the school road. Councilor Knowles said it was a “disgrace” that such measures were needed to keep children safe.

She added: “It is a shame that these measures are necessary. I don’t really understand why middle schoolers have to be picked up every day right at the school gates, to be honest. We need to improve public transport to provide for parents and students. a different version.

“I’m a retired police sergeant and pavement parking outside schools is nothing new, it’s been a problem for as long as I can remember.” She said plans were underway to add double yellow lines to junctions in the area to better protect children and families.

Road safety campaigner Mat MacDonald said: “Every day thousands of school children in Birmingham are put at risk by obstructive parking. Overworked teachers act as de facto guardians to protect their students from the risk of serious injury or death because parents can’t go themselves. go a few extra minutes and the application is patchy at best.

“Local councilors Kerry Jenkins and Izzy Knowles worked hard to get these bollards installed and their tenacity deserves recognition. The fact that it has been so hard to make these changes, however, is a testament to how broken the system for improving our shared environment is. it really is.

“We work with the school of St. Bernard for over a year, and they are still waiting for additional safety measures and double yellow lines that should have been implemented last September. The pace of delivery is failing our children and we urgently need that to change.”