Safety concerns raised by resident over Eastbourne school entrance

Alan Clark lives near Heron Park Primary Academy & Nursery and says the entrance within The Hydneye is on a busy road so he has worries over student safety. He said there used to be a lolly-pop person at the crossing, but this is no longer the case.

Currently there are zig zag markings on one side of the road and a single yellow line on the other. Zig zags mean parking and overtaking is strictly prohibited. A single yellow line means no waiting or parking between a set time - 8am-6pm in this case.

Mr Clark said: “It is crazy that there are no school markings (zig zags) on both sides of the road and more restrictions like a 20mph zone and other road works like other school areas. It is useless having zig zags on one side but not the other.

"I have been trying over many years now to get the safety of pupils at Heron Academy improved or at least brought back to what it was, or better.”

A spokesperson for East Sussex County Council (ESCC) said: “Parking restrictions outside schools are there to improve safety for schoolchildren and other pedestrians, and we would remind motorists to park considerately around schools and not to stop on school ‘keep clear’ markings.

“School ‘keep clear’ markings are used to keep the road directly outside of school entrances clear of all traffic. There is no legal requirement to have school ‘keep clear’ markings on both sides of a road and in most circumstances other restrictions such as double or single yellow lines are used.

“Parents and carers parking dangerously and inconsiderately when dropping their children at school is not unique to Heron Academy. Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) regularly patrol outside schools where restrictions are in place but these issues occur at lots of schools in the county and we do not have the resources for CEOs to visit every school each day. CEOs have visited Heron Academy seven times so far this year.”

According to ESCC rules, CEOs have to observe a vehicle for five minutes on the single yellow lines before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice. Mr Clark said: “This is crazy, what a pointless waste of money painting it – stopping just one minute is just as dangerous as four hours.”

“While we do appreciate the concerns of residents, with limited resources available we can only implement road safety schemes where the need is greatest and this area does not meet the criteria to be considered a priority for additional road safety measures at present.

“We recognise that there are schemes that do not meet the county council’s benchmark for funding but are important to the local community. These schemes can sometimes be funded through our Community Match initiative which is open to parish and town councils, residents’ associations and local community groups and is managed by our Highways department.”

More news from Eastbourne