Somerset traffic order proposed over school run 'chaos'

Many parents park along Oakfield Road during the school run

A number of schools are calling for roads to be closed to traffic at pick up and drop off times.

It comes as Somerset Council and Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) are working to improve road safety.

The plan would see a "school street" created where roads are closed during school runs and speed limits reduced.

However, there are concerns the closure would inconvenience residents and simply move the problem elsewhere.

Somerset Council is running a consultation for three schools in Bridgwater, Dunster and Otterhampton, which closes on 17 October.

Currently Oakfield Road, near Bridgwater's St Mary's Primary School, is "absolute chaos" during the school rush hour, according to one resident.

Some parents arrive more than 30 minutes early to pick up their children, meaning the road becomes full of parked cars in the afternoons.

'Park stupidly'

Speaking to BBC Radio Somerset, the resident added: "There's a lot of people parking around [Oakfield Road] and there's kids running around and you can't see them.

"If they allow residents to come through then it wouldn't be an inconvenience. If they don't then, it will be a massive inconvenience."

One mother who parks on Oakfield Road when picking up her son from school said: "There's so many people who park stupidly and it's really dangerous for the kids, especially when they're parking on the zigzags and they don't really seem to listen to the parking wardens.

"However, they're just going to go to a different road, so surely the other roads are going to be more congested."

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