New safety measures outside a school have been installed after councillors highlighted “irresponsible” parking that led to a child being knocked down and many near misses.
Parking on verges near Queens' School and the Met Sports Club, in Aldenham Road, Bushey, has been a safety worry for years.
Motorists drove onto a footpath during the school drop-off and pick-up period, as well as at weekends when sports clubs visit the Metropolitan Bushey site, leaving children on the pavement "dodging" cars.
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There have been numerous attempts to tackle the problem, but Bushey North county councillor Laurence Brass believes a new double-height kerb and forthcoming bollards have finally brought an end to the danger.
The Liberal Democrat councillor, who spent around half his localities budget on the scheme, said: “There have been many near misses in the past.
"There are a lot of parents coming to collect that need to bring their cars but they simply cannot continue to park on the verges and endanger the pupils."
He added that one child was knocked down but not seriously injured.
This scheme was designed by council highways engineers, although the bollards were proposed separately by councillors.
The kerbs are around the edges of the footway, where they meet the driveways parents use to get onto the verge, and were finished last week (June 6).
“It’s impossible to come onto the verge in the way that they had done,” he said, adding that “one or two” cars were stopped trying to drive the whole way along from before the new kerb starts.
Additional bollards, alongside those installed in March, will block off the pavement and prevent going around the kerb to get to the verge. They are due to be installed in six weeks.
Cllr Brass added: “Once the new bollards are in place, I do believe we will have cured what has been a problem over many many years.”
Parents have apparently responded very positively to the measure.
The local Liberal Democrats acknowledged the solution will likely displace traffic to nearby areas but said this was preferable to the current situation.
They highlighted 50p two-hour parking at the Met Sports Club nearby.
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