Strict parking restrictions could soon be enforced to further reduce congestion outside a north-east primary school.
A drop-off zone was installed at Mintlaw Primary to improve safety after a spate of complaints from school staff and parents.
The lay-by allows parents on the school run to pull safely off the main road to allow rush-hour traffic on the busy A950 Peterhead to New Pitsligo road pass.
But now council officials want to introduce a tough 15-minute waiting time during the school day to ensure it is not abused.
No vehicles – driven by parents or otherwise – will be allowed to park in the drop-off zone for more than 15 minutes between 8am and 5pm.
In a report to the Buchan area committee, Aberdeenshire Council’s area roads expert Stewart Philip said: “This traffic order shall ensure that there are no vehicles parking in the lay-by for more than 15 minutes in any hour thus limiting on-street parking and allowing free flow of traffic on the A950 particularly at peak periods at the start and end of the school day.”
If approved by councillors at tomorrow’s meeting, the existing ‘keep clear’ road markings will also be removed.
This latest move comes after the council consulted, informally, with teachers and police officers.
The new £110,000 drop-off zone was built during the summer, and involved tearing up a footpath and school wall and moving them back.
The original work was paid for out of Aberdeenshire Council’s health and safety budget, but the cost of implementing these new restrictions will be met from the roads maintenance programme.
Just over a decade ago, residents fought council plans to create a park-and-ride interchange in the grounds of the school. Villagers said the £250,000 scheme, similar to the one at Ellon, would actually make congestion worse.