Luton dad calls for tougher stance on school parking problem after son ‘narrowly missed’ by driver

A dad in Luton has called for more to be done about an ongoing parking issue around a school in the town after his son was “narrowly missed by a driver”.

Khalid Abdullah, 57, has children who go to the Ferrars Academy on Macaulay Road, and says the parking issue on streets surrounding the school is “chronic”.

Khalid said: “My son was narrowly missed by a driver as my wife dropped my kids to school. He nearly went onto the curb on Cloister Road, he would have been doing 15, 20 miles an hour. My wife pulled my son out of the way.”

A spokesperson for the academy said: “We are more than aware of the problems and have ourselves been in touch with the council at different points over the last few years. We are also aware of residents contacting the council over the same issues. Staff have observed parents conducting dangerous manoeuvres in their cars.

"The school regularly communicates with parents regarding the concerns over parking and dangerous driving, asking them not to drive down Cloisters Road and be considerate with their driving and parking for the safety of our school community.”

Khalid contacted Luton Borough Council in March when the incident happened, and says he was assured it would look into the problem. But he says the situation has not improved. He said: "I drive an Uber for a living so I see people parking on grass verges, double yellow lines, zigzags, no stopping areas. It's an absolute nightmare in the whole of Luton and then you drive to Dunstable and you don't find the same kind of attitude."

A spokesperson for Luton Borough Council said: “The council takes parents’ concerns over road safety extremely seriously. Illegal parking and inconsiderate driving around schools is dangerous and distressing for children and parents. Our parking team undertake enforcement activities at schools on a daily basis during the school term to encourage responsible road use and to ensure compliance with parking restrictions and we expect all drivers to be aware of the law.

“With regard to Ferrars Academy, our enforcement officers have visited Cloisters Road a number of times over the last few months and there is a further enforcement visit scheduled next week. We also have in place a CCTV enforcement camera at the school which monitors the yellow school entrance markings on a daily basis.”

Last week, Khalid says a car reversed in the small alleyway between garages close to the school as he was dropping his children at the school gate. Khalid explained: "I had to hurry one of the twins along to avoid them from being hit by this careless driver. It's a real, real problem."

The council spokesperson continued: “Our Road Safety Team also work closely with schools regarding these issues and the schools regularly write to parents highlighting concerns. The team also liaise with Bedfordshire Police. Proposals for a Traffic Exclusion Zone that will restrict access to vehicles directly outside this school are currently being considered, and residents and the school will be consulted in due course in relation to these.”