‘Denormalising’ school traffic
YESTERDAY we argued that a ban to draw a line over who could and couldn’t buy cigarettes for the rest of their lives had a good chance of success, especially as being part of the drive to ‘denormalise’ smoking.
It might feel something of a quantum leap, but a move to restrict parking in the narrow roads around Castel School could, ultimately, have a similar effect.
The historic primary school sits in a network of narrow roads which are, at best, a tight squeeze at times and used to, up the one-way Rue St Germain, lead to impassable queues in the afternoons which would leave people sitting in their vehicles for 20 minutes or more.
The solution found was to sacrifice the junior playground for more parking between 2.40 and 3.30 every day. Parking in Rue de la Masse was the quicker route in and out, but left the road a barely viable two-way at peak times.
The school, working with its school council, has now acted to remove parking from Rue de la Masse. That will make life easier for the passing motorist. The immediate impact for parents and grandparents doing the pick-up? Probably more time in the playground. That’s the playground that the headteacher wants back for the children.
This appears to be a move to ‘denormalise’ driving to and from school. It will take time, but just like ending passive smoking, it does have some appeal.