Parents fear dangerous driving and illegally parked cars near a city school could be putting their children’s lives at risk.
Worried mums and dads at Birchgrove Primary School have launched a petition to try and get the council to take action.
The school on Birchgrove Road lies on a busy route between two of the busiest trunk roads into the city – Caerphilly Road (A469) and Manor Way (A470).
Bronwen Earls, 35, fears her five-year-old son Owen will one day be knocked down.
She claimed most of the problems are caused by other parents.
“The parents that park on this road, drive erratically, park illegally or dangerously and mount pavements as children walk to and from the school,” she said. “As parents they seem to show no interest in child safety whatsoever.
“I fear it will take a child being hurt or worse for the situation to be addressed.”
Another parent Phillip Hoffer, whose five-year-old daughter Ruby goes to the school, has set up a petition urging the council to tackle the problems.
“Any parent who comes across the Caerphilly Road junction will have horror stories to tell about cars going through red lights,” he said.
“I’ve been coming here with my daughter for one-and-a-half years and already I have seen five incidents.
“A lorry came through the lights the other day and stopped just six feet away from us while a car hit a pushchair with a child in it.
“Somebody will get killed, it’s only a matter of time.”
Dental nurse Jennifer Pugh, 30, whose two daughters Tara, eight, and Olivia, six, attend the school, drives her children to school.
She said: “I have to bring my car as we live by Whitchurch Hospital and I’m just as fed up as everyone else because there’s nowhere safe to park.
“I have to come half-an-hour before the end of school in order to find a space that’s safe.”
Birchgrove Primary School’s Headteacher, Sarah Morgan, said: “The safety of our pupils is of paramount importance to us and we regularly remind pupils and parents about safety issues via our newsletter.
“Our school is located in a very busy and built-up area of Cardiff and we have no on-site parking facilities. As such, for a number of years we have worked closely with the council, our governors and parents to explore what measures can be implemented to improve safety further.”
A Cardiff council spokeswoman said: “Civil Parking Enforcement Officers (CPEs) regularly visit the area and we will continue to issue Penalty Charge Notices where people have parked illegally around Birchgrove Primary School.
“The council has already begun a review of school safety around all schools in the capital and are doing all we can to tackle problem parking generally in the city.”
