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Llysfaen school highlights zig-zag parking danger


January 16, 2019 - 1802 views

A near miss involving a child and a car outside a local school has prompted police, pupils and staff to take action and educate regarding the dangers of parking on zig zags outside schools.

Working alongside local Police Community Support Officer Matthew Preston, pupils at Ysgol Cynfran in Llysfaen held a competition to design a poster highlighting the risks of dangerous parking outside schools.

The winning posters have now been printed on a specially designed banner which is now proudly on display outside on the school gates.

PCSO Matthew Preston from the local Safer Neighbourhood Team was initially approached after recent concerns were raised by the school. He said: “The issue of vehicles being parked on the zig zag lines has been problematic. A minority park illegally and inconsiderately, so when the school highlighted the issue we decided to do something about it.

“We decided it would be a great idea to get the whole school involved so we came up with the idea of asking the pupils to design a poster. They were tasked with the job of asking parents to help them with their designs.

“We are simply asking drivers to think of children’s safety when parking their vehicles outside schools. The zig zags are there for a reason – to keep vehicles away from school entrances so it’s safe for children to file out of schools and make their way home safely.”

Following a successful bid to PACT (Police and Communities Trust) the group were offered funding to produce a banner containing some of the winning designs.

PCSO Preston added: “I would like to thank local businesses such as Cineworld, Colwyn Bay Theatre and the Welsh Mountain Zoo who kindly offered prizes as well as PACT and CGI for their sponsorship.

“The eye-catching banners are now on display outside the school and we hope it will help with reducing the amount of vehicles parking dangerously on the zig zags outside the premises.”

Ysgol Cynfran Head Teacher, Owen Rogers said: “I am grateful for the assistance we’ve had to purchase these banners and hope they will remind parents to think twice about where they park.

“Every child has the right to safe access to their school and they should not have to face dangers at the school gate caused by a minority of irresponsible drivers.”

Funding for the project was obtained via PACT (Police and Communities Trust). PACT was launched in 1998 to support community initiatives, particularly those in which the Police are involved, which aim to improve the quality of life by reducing crime and fear of crime in all the communities of North Wales. PACT encourages applications from community and voluntary groups, in partnership with their Neighbourhood Policing Teams that will have a positive impact in local communities and encourage a safer environment and increased quality of life.