New Project To Help With Parking At Essex Schools

8 January 2019, 16:25 | Updated: 8 January 2019, 16:27

Essex County Council have been telling Heart about a new project that's being rolled out across the county to help with parking issues near schools, to help both residents, parents of children and children.

3PR represents the three Parking Rules of Care, Consideration and Caution and delivers a positive message about school parking, providing advice and guidance to children, parents and carers on safe and considerate parking practices.

Through it, parents are encouraged not to park in a certain zone near to schools that have signed up. Then, when children walk, cycle or scooter in instead, they're rewarded with a 3PR token for the class token box. Each month the class with the most tokens is awarded a cup and, at the end of each school year, one class will become the 3PR Parking Champions.

Councillor Ron Pratt, chairman of the South Essex Parking Partnership who created the concept originally, told Heart "It eases congestion, the children love the competitive side of it and it always promotes discussion as to what's safe and what's acceptable. It's nothing but good news.

"There's nothing more frustrating than if you've got an apppointment and you want to leave and someone has parked across your driveway because they're walking their child to school. I know it's only five or ten minutes, but it is extremely irritating."

He said a number of schools across Essex are signing up, but it will take some time for all schools to be part of the project, adding "Every school of course is unique, there's not one scheme that will fit all so they have to look at how they're going to do it and design their scheme using all the source materials for themselves."