BRIGG PARENTS TAKE NOTE: NEW CLAMPDOWN ON 'DANGEROUS' PARKING NEAR SCHOOLS

Parents in the Brigg area should be aware that North Lincolnshire Council has now launched what it calls a crackdown on dangerous school parking.
Our local highway and education authority says that pupil safety is being increased with the introduction of immediate penalty notices for anyone parking on yellow lines near a school.
"Previous rules have been toughened up, so community wardens can now issue anyone parking on yellow lines within 100m of a school with an immediate notice, carrying a £70 fine," the council explains.
"Anyone parking on the zig-zag lines outside a school can already receive an instant penalty notice.
"Parking near schools at drop off and pick up times creates a dangerous hazard, obstructing sightlines for children crossing the road and restricting the flow of traffic.
"Rules on parking restrictions not within 100m of a school are unaffected by the change."
The council has made this change public this week and given due warning to parents.
Note the reference to 100m; in some cases this will mean parents still taking the car but parking a bit further away from schools, we suggest.
Read more about parking enforcement in North Lincolnshire here...
Some of us who were pupils 50 or more years ago will remember when virtually all kids walked or cycled to and from school in Brigg - even when there was heavy rain or snow. Indeed, many families in those days couldn't afford to buy or run a car. And if they did have one, it was not employed on school run in most cases.
The council today is correct in enforcing the rules of the road, while parents have every right to take the car to drop off and pick up their children to ensure they stay safe as long as they comply with the yellow lines.
However, with warmer weather and more daylight hours ahead, is this a good time of year to look at increased cycling and walking to school? This would help the carbon footprint by reducing short car runs and provide welcome exercise for the pupils.
Will parents/guardians who currently take kids to school by car  consider biking or walking with their youngsters?
There are many more families today which have both parents working full-time than was the case decades ago.
But once pupils reached junior school level in the old days, they generally went unaccompanied to and from school - even if one parent was at home throughout the day.
Brigg police did an excellent job teaching cycling proficiency to pupils, ensuring that they were competent and confident to be on the road. It was stressed that riding on footpaths was illegal/contrary to the Highway Code. And in those days there were no cycle lanes, no M180 by-passing the town and no A15 connection near Briggate Lodge (now Forest Pines).
This resulted in the A18 through Brigg carrying hundreds of tankers, lorries, vans and cars heading north, south, east and west.
Since the completion of the road network in the 1980s, the bulk of cross-country heavy traffic misses Brigg by using the M180 and the A15 link south of Broughton.
So the number of vehicles using the A18 in Brigg 50 years ago stands comparison with what we experience today.

PICTURED: A parking warden at work - image courtesy of North Lincolnshire Council; yellow lines near the entrance to a Brigg school.