Parents in Oban have proposed a solution to major traffic chaos at the school gate – that Argyll and Bute Council supply a school bus.
If a bus is supplied, around 30 cars would not need to make the trip to Oban, and parents would know their children were safely at Park Primary School.
The school is at a dead end at the top of a housing scheme.
Mums say there is a regular stand-off between cars jostling to get kids to and from Park Primary School, in Dunollie, on time.
They are demanding change before the start of the new school year in August.
However, as Park Primary School is not in the catchment area of Dunbeg, it is not within Argyll and Bute Council’s remit to provide a bus.
Dunbeg parents travel the three miles along the busy A85 Dunbeg to Oban before turning onto Oban Esplanade and into the Dunollie area.
The A85 is often busy in the mornings due to traffic heading to the CalMac ferry terminal, bus tours leaving or arriving in town and farmers making their way to sales at the popular mart on the far side of town.
Parents of pupils at the nearby Oban Campus, who also live in Dunbeg, can catch a bus that takes them straight to that school.
The Oban Campus bus is one of two that leave Dunbeg each morning for Oban, they are hybrid public/school transport.
‘Trying to get a solution for a year’
If Park Primary Pupils took the service bus, they would need to be dropped off on George Street, which would require a walk of around 20 minutes to the school.
Mum Roxy Natalia Azner, who has two children in the school, aged six and 10, started a petition to find out what other parents thought. More than 110 people signed.
She said: “I have been trying to get a solution for a year.
“Where the school is, at the end of a road, there is nowhere to park. A bus would solve the issue. Everyone can see it is a problem – but no one is doing anything about it.”
She continued: “As my child had already been in Park School when we moved to Dunbeg they wanted to be with their friends.”
Bus would improve safety for children
Claire Fleming, who has children aged six and three, said: “We moved to Dunbeg last year.
“Dunbeg Primary is a good school, but my parents, who provide childcare, lived in Oban when we moved to Dunbeg, and my oldest child was already in school in Park.
“There is a service bus from Dunbeg to Oban – but it would drop children off in town and then children would need to walk to school.”
She said: “This is about the safety of the pupils arriving at Park School.”
Another parent said: “The school is at the top of a road on a narrow bend. A new access road is required urgently.”
Neighbours of Park School say there is an accident waiting to happen into a bottleneck at the school gate, in a bid to get kids to school on time.
Sharon Duffy, who lives near Park Primary School, said: “There are huge problems with parking, and I have seen four near-misses and accidents recently.
‘Every day is a nightmare’
“The entrance to the school is on a tight bend on Kerrera Terrace and cars and minibuses regularly have to reverse around the corner when they can not see what is coming.
“Every day is a nightmare.”
Local councillor Julie McKenzie has offered round table talks after being alerted to the issue by a parent last year.
Ms McKenzie, who represents the Oban, North and Lorn ward, said: ‘I am aware that there are ongoing transport concerns for the parents in Dunbeg whose children attend Park Primary School, as I have been in dialogue with a parent who raised a petition some time ago and had provided responses from the council on concerns raised.
“Last year and more recently I offered to hold a meeting for parents, to hear any concerns and seek resolution; however, there was no uptake at those times.
“Having received several emails from parents yesterday, I’ll be responding to them all directly to let them know that the offer still stands.”
A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council confirmed there was “ample capacity” at Dunbeg Primary.
She said: “Parents living in Dunbeg, who choose to have children attending Park Primary and not their nearest school, are doing so on a placing request.
“As part of that request, parents must agree and organise their own transport arrangements.”
Conversation