Call to scrap parking fees at Sheffield’s popular Hillsborough Park to make school run safer

Hillsborough Green Party councillor Christine Gilligan-Kubo has come up with the suggestion to improve road safety for pupils at Hillsborough Primary School.

At the start and end of the school day many parents park their cars illegally, including on the pavement, outside the school on the busy Catch Bar Lane.

Coun Gilligan-Kubo said: “Children often run across the road going to and from school and, despite warnings from the headteacher, some parents continue to park directly outside the school.

“We have improved the signage outside the school to make it more difficult for anyone to ignore but still people persist in parking dangerously and it makes the likelihood of a tragic accident much more likely.”

She is suggesting a proposal to encourage parents to use the car park at Hillsborough Park.

‘Encourage more responsible parking’

“It is a short walk from the car park to the school of just a few minutes and I am proposing that the council waive the 70p charge for parents at the end of the school day and encourage them to use the free parking in the morning.

“In reality the car park has plenty of space at these times anyway so the council will not be losing any revenue.

“The school could offer parents short term passes to park in the car park to encourage more responsible parking and prevent the possibility of a child being hit by a vehicle.

“If necessary, we could make a small contribution to cover the loss of parking revenue from the Local Area Committee budget though I would anticipate that this cost would be negligible.

“In the meantime I will continue to push for better enforcement of parking conditions.”

Coun Gilligan will raise the proposal with Sheffield Council’s car parks department, Hillsborough Primary School and the Local Area Committee.

Back in 2019 the council did say it would introduce new restrictions the length of Catch Bar Lane and Parkside Road to stop motorists from parking on the pavement.

Officers said at the time restrictions were planned for the length of the road, apart from current legitimate parking spaces outside residents’ homes.