Parents could be banned from parking near schools in a bid to cut down on traffic congestion.

Essex County Council's cabinet has endorsed a suggestion parking should be prohibited within a half mile zone around some schools during "school run" periods.

But district and borough councils, who would ultimately be responsible for enforcing the regulations, would have to agree.

It echoes a successful Chronicle Child Safety First "Stay Off the Zig Zags" campaign of five years ago to crack down on parents parking on yellow lines outside schools.

Cllr Rodney Bass, cabinet member for highways, said: "We know it will be controversial but we feel we have to take some fairly dramatic measures. It is at an early stage, and the idea would be to introduce it in appropriate localities - not across the county.

"In each case we would have to consult with the school and the district or borough council would have to agree."

The proposals have been given a mixed reaction.

Moulsham High School deputy head teacher Anne Finnegan said: "It is a superb idea and long overdue. Brian Close is a nightmare with parents dropping children off by car.

"It is a chaotic situation, as everyone is trying to park in a small area."

Edward McConalogue, headmaster of Pius X Catholic Primary School, Tennyson Road, favours the move. "We have already written to parents asking them for a voluntary ban," he said.

But Frank McEvoy, headteacher of St John Payne Catholic Comprehensive, in Patching Hall Lane, which sees about 500 pupils of the total 1200 ferried in by car from as far as 15 miles away, did not think a parking ban would be practical.

Published Friday November 12, 2004

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