School fronts becoming parking lots

Rawalpindi school fronts are experiencing severe traffic jams these days as parents and school van-drivers park their vehicles to collect students from the educational institutions situated on every road and street of the city.
A group of Sir Syed Chowk area residents look at the problem getting awful day-by-day as they see hundreds of cars parked in the surrounding streets.
They have written to school authorities asking them to call on school van drivers and parents having cars to be more considerate but all their efforts have gone in vain.
A bookshop owner in front of Viqar-un-Nisa School and College, situated on Jehangir Road, says: “The problem came into the limelight after the incident when a parked car pulled out of the parked area and almost ran over a boy. It was a providential escape as he was injured only.”
Manzar Naqvi, father of 4th class student says: “The justifications by parents such as ‘I want to get home quickly as my other kid is sick’, or an excuse by the van driver, ‘there is no other place to park my vehicle’, are just inappropriate as poor car parking could cause nuisance to others. Safety of the children is the concern of everyone.”
“Problems include parents and van-drivers parking their vehicles in front of residents’ drives and almost in the middle of the road which holds up traffic,” says Asad Abbas, a bakeriwala nearby.
Talib-ul-Moula, a teacher of a private school on Tipu Road says, “Parking problems at school-leaving time are quite serious and are getting acute with the passage of time as more private schools are coming up in every nook and corner of the city. And also many schools sit near the T-junction and Y-junctions of the roads, which are also busy roads.”
“It is in effect an inexplicable problem but a few measures can be taken i.e. trying and taking on board the points which are essential for the safety of our children. Two things need to be considered; firstly do we want to leave our kids unprotected and how our behavior can cultivate our children’s development,” says Hamid Taqi, a teacher at a local school.
“While recognizing the trouble caused to residents and the overcrowding problems on school fronts, the major concern remains the protection of the children on the streets and roads which have schools. This problem must be dealt with earnestly,” says Syed Alamdar Hussain,” a principal of a private school on the Kali Tanki Road.
“Sans any measures, the problem can only get worse if more schools are established in the areas which are already booming with them, as school van drivers and parents are not considerate of residents, other drivers and the children’s safety,” says Hamid Hussain, a retired college professor.
“The record of instances of poor parking is never-ending. Unfortunately, some parents become rude when residents ask them to move about. The sad aspect of this story is that it is the small minority of van drivers and parents that are giving rise to this untoward scenario,” says Wajahat Ali, a private school headmaster.
“There is no need for making any apology for raising concerns over this issue, because we have a duty to change our conduct for the sake of our children as they follow what we do. We must all try and mold the society and behavior we desire our children to be a part of,” says Abida Naqi, a private school principal.