A DUNFERMLINE mum has told the Press she had learned to accept that she or her child “could die from a preventable road accident” on the school run.

The mum, who did not want to be named, said parents were scared to walk their children to school over fears they will be hit by irresponsible drivers outside Carnegie Primary. 

Headteacher Julie Journeaux says she has warned motorists regularly about adding to “dangerous congestion” on surrounding streets. 

Cars have been found parked on double yellow lines, on corners, in bus stops, and over residents’ driveways during drop-off and pick-up times, with the school confirming that there had been near-misses on the roads involving pupils. 

Cara Hilton, who is a councillor for Dunfermline South, though Carnegie Primary falls in the Dunfermline Central ward, and is Fife Council's education spokesperson, lives on one of the affected streets and says she is no stranger to the difficulties residents and parents are facing.

"I can see the risks every day," she told the Press.

"There are people who are parking randomly on corners of pavements, on yellow lines – as it gets darker it is a big concern.

"It has been an issue for years, the school have been working hard and the parent council has been working hard, I have raised it with other councillors and police previously."

She says that those dropping off pupils should be considering alternative options to lessen the problem and make the school run easier.

"There needs to be more done to encourage parents to walk, but only if it is safe," she added.

"It is a big priority, every child should have the right to walk to school safely."

Last June, the Press reported that one mum believed it was just a "matter of time" before a child was injured on Fleet Street, near the school.

She claimed that motorists were parking "selfishly" in the area and were ignoring pleas from staff to be responsible.

Councillor Aude Boubaker Calder, a Liberal Democrat representative for the ward, said that she has been in contact with constituents and the council about the issue.

She hopes that a scheme which is being trialled across schools in Fife, though none in Dunfermline, to stop cars from accessing certain roads could be introduced here.

"It is a busy road, if people are parking on streets then it can be dangerous for kids crossing," she said.

"This should be a priority and it should have been dealt with earlier. I would encourage parents to walk instead of drive.

"I understand people could have difficulties with this but it is then about being sure to park responsibly."

She added she will be looking in to what could be done and speaking with headteachers across the city about safer travel.

Ms Journeaux also believes that a solution could be found in more parents ditching their cars in favour of walking or cycling and that Carnegie Primary had been working on an initiative to support this.

She said: "Regular emails are sent to parents to remind them of the dangers to children when cars are parked outside the school at the beginning and end of the school day.

"Our Travel Action Group have recently reviewed our Travel Action Plan which encourages pupils to walk, cycle or scoot to school. Many of our pupils do this and we encourage them to keep it up."

Pupils will be involved in running the programme which is hoped to increase understanding of the problem.

"The plan is due to be launched in the next weeks and will be promoted through an awareness-raising campaign led by our junior road safety officer and supported by our community police," she continued.

"The impact of this initiative will be totally dependent on the response from our families.

"There are still a large number of parents who continue to drive children to school and contribute to the dangerous congestion in the surrounding streets.

"We will continue to work with our local police to help with this issue and I would urge parents to seriously consider their travel options to help keep our children safe.”