Parents of pupils who attend a school in Tenby hope to have found some solutions to help alleviate long-running traffic problems experienced outside the premises. Concerned parents from Tenby Infants School initiated a meeting last week, which was arranged with the help of the school's headteacher, Mrs. Gill John. The aim of the meeting was twofold - to help parents and carers understand where it was possible to park around the school and to work together to bring about improvements to the road layout/parking facilities at the school. Invitations were also given to the local police and council (LEA) to attend the meeting. "As has been widely publicised recently, there have been serious traffic problems largely relating to parking around the schools in Heywood Lane, causing problems with the flow of traffic, but far more importantly possessing a serious safety risk to the children, in particular those at Tenby Infants who are as young as three-years-old," explained parent Emma Geertman, who lives in Picton Terrace. "Many parents are forced to drive to school as they live a considerable distance from school and public transport can be limited and unsafe for small children, not having seat belts etc. It is therefore not possible for everyone to walk to school, which is the obvious solution, and parking is necessary. "The parents want to work together with the community (school, police, council and any other interested parties) to resolve these issues as soon as possible for all our sakes," she continued. "The support given by the local police and Infants School is greatly appreciated, in particular Mrs. John and PCSO Idwal David," added Emma. Various issues relating to the traffic problems were brought up during discussions. Inspector Neil Thomas, of Tenby Police Station, mentioned that during a monthly meeting with the residents of Tenby, the area around the Heywood Lane schools had been identified as a priority with regards to traffic enforcement. Other issues discussed included the following: Parking at the Salterns car park, with the possibility of a permit scheme allowing free parking for a limited amount of time, with a similar scheme successfully introduced in Saundersfoot. Tenby Rugby Club have offered to let cars park in their ground, which could be more beneficial for sixth form pupils at Greenhill, as there is no footpath to the school and would therefore be unsuitable for small children. Conversion of a small area of the top end of the Greenhill playing field adjacent to Heywood Lane into a multi-functional area, which could be used by cars for a half-hour period in the morning and afternoon and by the school the rest of the time. Mrs. John suggested that it may be an option to take children into the school from 8.40 am, staggering the times when dropping off can take place. A £300,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly for a traffic plan, which it was hoped would resolve some of the problems around the schools, had unfortunately been allocated without consultation with the Infant School, with the majority of the funds being allocated to Greenhill. Road lay-out - the provision of disabled parking would be a positive improvement. The introduction of 'parking bays' at the Junior School, Senior School and Infants limited to half-an-hour during school drop-off and pick-up times A one-way system in Heywood Lane, with also possible weight restrictions on vehicles. Following the meeting, a number of parents put themselves forward to be on a 'Parents Traffic Committee' in the hope that they can keep working to resolve the problems by negotiating with Pembrokeshire County Council. Another meeting will take place in a month, with the committee hoping that a representative of the county council will attend discussions.
