Residents have come up with many ideas on how to ease traffic on Church Road, after the parish council announced it was considering banning parking.

Waiting restrictions are being proposed by Laverstock Parish Council to help tackle problems with traffic flow, pollution and dangerous driving in the arrival and departure of 2,000 students in the village.

There are four schools on the road - St Andrews Primary School, Wyvern College, St Edmund's Girls School and St Joseph's Catholic School.

Read more: Plans to ban parking outside Laverstock schools

Along the whole zone, there would be a no waiting restriction between 2pm and 4pm, meaning that cars would not be able to wait in the area in that period.

While some have said that the parking ban would be "fantastic", others have raised many different concerns.

Some say it would be impossible for parents to get their children to and from school if parking on the street was banned.

Charlotte Adams said: "It happens everywhere and people just need to deal with it. It's twice a day for half hour and nothing on the holidays."

Some suggest making schoolchildren walk or take the bus, but Charlotte added: "Not everyone lives walking distance to the school and parents also work. They don’t have the time to spend all morning getting on transport."

Cost of buses

Many parents have raised the cost of school buses as a deterrent to using them as an alternative to cars.

Hannah Littlewood commented on our Facebook post to say that buses do not pass every house and are "very unreliable".

She added that it was not an option for primary school pupils: "Are you going to chuck a 5-year-old on a bus?"

Another parent said the cost of taking the bus to school would be "extortionate", with another resident saying the cost of a bus would amount to £300 a term.

Leanne Thornborough said the cost for her is £53 a month as she lives just outside the three-mile radius to qualify for a free bus trip.

Joylindsey Mahoney said: "Because of the way the council work out the distance of a journey - in a straight line as the crow flies - my daughter wasn't entitled to a bus pass despite having to walk or cycle over three and a half miles each way every day.

"If the council reviewed this many more children would be entitled to catch the bus and this would massively reduce traffic in the village."

She also added that the school her daughter attends does not have facilities for her to get changed into dry clothes if it is raining on her way to school, so she would have to walk around in wet clothes and shoes all day.

"I do sympathise with the residents but equally I can understand that parents want to ensure that their child gets to school safe warm and dry," she said.

She concluded that school bus passes should be scrapped and instead everyone should pay a nominal £1 a day fee.

Other suggestions

One commenter suggested staggering the start and end times for the four schools, to avoid pupils and parents from all four clogging up the street at around the same time.

Another reader said that the schools should provide off-road parking, and another suggestion was a designated pick up and drop off zone.

The parish council is welcoming feedback from local residents. To give your views, fill out the survey by clicking here.

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