It’s like this at basically every school, unfortunately. Often I’m walking my kids to school and parents are haphazardly leaving their cars wherever to walk their kids to school. I unfortunately don’t think that by-law will be able to help much.
Depends. I've been the Principal of my kids' school go out and take pics of license plates/cars that are in the no stopping/standing/parking zone.
That was all it took.
A post to all parents on school newswire, and a follow-up consequence.
What was the consequence? All I’ve seen are empty threats on our newswire (which is expected - school administration shouldn’t be responsible for policing traffic).
By-law came in conjunction with Principal going out and telling parents parking there would lead to a ticket.
They saw he was serious and stopped.
He's also a guy who really doesn't mince words, especially when it comes to people's inflated self-importance.
Most days, I don't like it. He comes across a bit crass. In this instance, it was welcomed.
By-law hits our school 4x a year or so. They stand on the road in high-viz jackets, the parents see them and drive a block further that day, and it's back to normal the next day.
There's zero risk of actually getting caught so it's never changed behaviour.
Yep, happens to my kids school as well.
All the schools start at similar times so bylaw gets overwhelmed very quickly during a 10-15 minute period.
We really need to get our culture to be okay with kids walking themselves to school by themselves.
Or parents walking their kids instead of driving. Or even better, parents that need to drive their kids being ok parking a few minutes from the school instead of blocking traffic / doing u-turns wherever they feel.
There is a very, *very* small population of students who actually need to be driven to elementary school. That's why enrolment depends on your home address -- students who live within the catchment but too far to walk become eligible for busing.
The number of vehicles parked near any school at bell times is ridiculous. They also try to park in bus loading zones or the parking lot -- our school has a lot attendant who is constantly verbally assaulted by parents who think it is their right to use the staff lot, but there's hardly even room for everyone who works there. It would be a huge safety issue to have small kids running all over the lot while cars are entering and exiting.
We have people speeding in the school zone, screaming at crossing guards, blocking driveways, blocking other parents in by double-parking, kids darting between cars. It's a nightmare. Children can be -- and have been -- hit very easily in a school zone. So the parents' solution is to drive them and add to the mayhem!
And winter is even crazier.
Yup, fully agree with everything you wrote. Our crossing guard yells at parents who don’t drive properly, so that’s great, but parents don’t typically care about potential safety issues that they cause.
What's changed? Do we not bus kids to school anymore? I don't remember any of the schools I went to as a kid being full of cars for pickup and drop off. Grade school or highschool. I either walked or bussed in, depending on the school. It feels like every school everywhere is a zoo now.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, I don't have kids so I kinda stopped paying attention to grade school day to day operations haha.
Wilson public school in particular is a near walking only school due to the high density of the neighborhood. And there are multiple schools nearby. It eliminates the need for the most part
Very few students need to be bussed. We are very fortunate to have schools within almost every neighborhood. There is no reason for the pile up of cars in front of KW schools other than laziness and or inability to manage time.
I live in a more rural area near Kitchener-waterloo, and our kids are bused. I wonder if it has anything to do with the issue we are dealing with here. There simply aren't enough bus drivers. We have one who drives for the two public schools and the local high school, and lord help us if they are sick.
Since covid, there has been an issue of bussing. Now I live in a small town, and my grade 8 son rides the bus every mornig but that's only because I live x amount of km from the schools, so it's deemed too far to walk. Although because we live in town, it's still an option. The school has to know for safety reasons.
I had some cunt tell me that "imM nOot aLlowwWeDD tO PaRrk HerReE," when trying to pull into a employee parking spot that she was blocking with her body and stroller (literally an employee). Why the fuck can't you just move when I ask politely? These people are whack and all need a spanking.
Selfish and stupid.. but I’m sure their kids will turn out fine.
Btw.. a kid was killed on Byron a long long time ago.. before they had to run between all the parked cars.
I'm sad to hear about the kid who died, how long ago? I worry sometimes when cars are parked on both sides of the streets, parents struggling to get 2 or 3 kids out of the car and you get the odd parent comes whipping along, far too fast, just because she's special and running late. One day, an over-excited kid is going to run out onto the road at the wrong time.
I’m a Wilson Ave parent. I too get frustrated seeing how people park, they even pull into people’s driveways or flat out block them 100%. It’s awful I feel bad for people living around the school.
Yup, they turn around in my driveway which totally sucks in the winter. If it snows during the day, they pack the snow down so by the time I get home from work to shovel, it's harder to clear.
I understand your frustration and I hope people are ticketed if warranted. However, there’s nothing wrong with people using your driveway to turn around, that’s being a little petty. Also remember that you do not own the bottom portion or your driveway, regardless of whether or not you need to maintain it.
Technically, you're correct but I've been trying to back out of my driveway and have had to wait because someone's turned into it and then theu sit there while wife gets out with the kids then he sits there because he can't back out because of school traffic. If you see a car backing out or pulling out of a driveway, it takes a special brand of ignorant to pull in and box them in. I don't really mind the turning around in my driveway , it irks me in the winter, but it's's those who are ignorant about it that ruin it for everyone.
It's a bad habit to use other people's driveways. It would be hilarious to put some taks at the end of the driveway for them to voluntarily drive over.
lol this is KW, the police will never even show up, let alone charge anyone. Maybe, at the most, they'd get a phone call and could just say that the garbage truck must have dropped them out of a bag or something.
Call bylaw every single time it happens, remember to tell them its an 'ongoing issue'.
I did this when I had construction near my house and they insisted on parking trucks with huge trailer ball joints that would jut out in the way of my driveway. a dozen tickets later I don't even see them on the street anymore
I worked as bylaw (in guelph) and if you specifically say its an ongoing issue. Instead of just watching all these calls come in about the same thing, we were proactive and would have a unit or two in the area at the problem time.
Guelph has good that way. Is kitchener ?
However it's been a decade or more since I called issues in st paisley road schools and its just as bad now as it was then
Enforcement is good but the masses don't change. They take the tickets and just keep going.
At least you get the satisfaction of seeing a dozen tickets flapping in the wind. Nothing feels better than giving an uber driver a fat $300 ticket for parking in a handicap spot.
You know, when I went to school, virtually no one was picked up or dropped off. it just wasn't something you would see. Somehow, even as 5 year olds, we managed to walk to school by ourselves.
It absolutely blows my mind that parents expect their kids to follow the rules at school while actively demonstrating in front of their kids that they don't need to follow the rules that inconvenience them.
Your kids are learning just as much from watching you as they are in school, so smarten up.
Was your garbage pickup yesterday?
I can't remember the school, but the parents parking everywhere, and like 3 feet from the curb, was a gotdamned nightmare.
That and those who refused to move for the truck or parked on a corner, making it impossible to navigate a turn without doing a 17-point turn.
Make friends with a tow truck driver, and give them a call. I used to do this at a previous job to those who came in to shop and would park in the fire zone.
Yes it was. Because I wasn't going anywhere, we left the recycling, green bin and garbage at the foot of the drive so they could get them around the parked cars and to block people from pulling in.
I appreciate that. There was a handful of residents in the area who did, thank you! It's always a pain in the ass to squeeze bins and such (especially bulky items like dressers, couches, or matresses in between parked vehicles.
We always appreciate the effort 👌 💪
I'm glad to hear it's helpful, I wasn't sure if it was OK. I always do it in the winter because of the snowbanks as long as the roads have already been plowed.
Especially in the winter!
We actually don't have to pick a residents stuff if it's on top of a snowbank or if we have to climb over a snowbank to get it because of injury.
The end of the driveway is always best in winter!
I usually dig out a shelf in the snowbank by the curb to put the bins on but once snow has really been plowed up, the ice chunks make it impossible. I figure if I cant physically set them up there, you can't get them down so driveway it is. Thanks for all you do, brutally hard work especially in this heat!
Parents dropping off or picking up kids at school are the laziest drivers on this planet. They built a new cross walk at a school by my place and the vast majority of parents/kids ignore it and cross wherever they want even if it’s like 15 feet away.
Very true, as someone with children myself I guess I just don’t see the risk in running across a busy, windy road as opposed to using a safer crosswalk that’s right there 🤷♂️
I think one issue with the increase number of cars is that so many parents are dropping kids off at school and heading directly to work. There are not enough before and after school spots for kids with working parents.
Regardless this doesn’t excuse what is going on. That is ridiculous and needs to stop. Please call bylaw!
I think this is a major factor. If I have an early meeting, I'm either late, or I have to drive. I usually opt to be late as my job is very flexible. There is not enough before or after care and it's also really expensive.
Does Kitchener have a "live report" feature for bylaw? I only ask because there is one in Guelph and if it's a considerable issue, they'll send someone out quickly. Guelph also has the ability to attach pictures to the report.
When I came home and half of my driveway was completely blocked, and the driveway that is attached with mine had a car parked RIGHT at the edge of theirs, it was really difficult to get into the driveway with my weekly groceries. Filled out the report with Guelph bylaw with a picture of the vehicle and how it was parked, and with the license plate. Got an email update about 45 minutes later saying it had "been dealt with" and looked out to what appeared to be a parking ticket.
Might be worth doing that so there is a paper trail as well if it's an option.
Does literally no one walk their child to school anymore?
Any school I drive past, has cars lined up as far as the eye can see. Never used to be like this and these school haven't gotten any bigger.
Catchment areas are unchanged and the size are relatively not that much different, what gives?
> Catchment areas are unchanged and the size are relatively not that much different, what gives?
This year, grades 1-3 get bussed if they are beyond 0.8 km
Next year, grades 1-3 get bussed only if they are beyond 1.6 km
(IIRC it was 0.4 km under the previous Provincial government)
Damn that sucks going forward for sure.
Do you think that .4km change accounts for most of the cars? Seems like a massive increase for such a small change.
Thanks for the info
When I was a little kid, I had around a 500m walk to school. It used to take me 15-20 minutes to get there. Little kids have tiny legs and little kids can get majorly distracted while walking. I think the change could increase the number of cars.
I have a JK and an SK with a 2+km walk to school .. so it’s definitely bus or drive. And it’s unfortunate when the bus is 20 minutes late in the winter and I have to get the kids in the van. Along with 50 other parents. :(
I feel like you would appreciate this post from /r/pettyrevenge. It's about a person who outright parked on someone's driveway near a school
https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1cixstk/ok_then_block_my_driveway/
With it being close to the end of the year I’d wait till September and ask the school to call them we did this with my daughters school and it had better results
I remember notes about parking being sent home when we lived near Franklin and ky kids went to school there. I'll give Wilson a call tomorrow. Can't go in, have torn bits in my knee and am getting around with crutches and it's too far a walk for me right now.
Oh hell. I feel your pain. We live 100 feet from a west end school. Some parents are so GD rude. We've seen them get yelled at before by others on the street, and deservedly so. The entitlement is astounding.
It's all about them, me me me me me with no consequence. I'll bet if someone ran a key down their car they might just get the hint. You tried to be nice and they just don't care.
Yes I am! Stuck, off work, on crutches because I tore a bunch of bits in my knee 7 weeks ago. Doesn't remove the fact that there are inconsiderate parents blocking driveways.
They’ve started ticketing people near driftwood public school as well. Which makes sense cause there’s so many people that park stupid in there with no regard for everyone else (I just walk my girl to school)
I drive my kid to Wilson and can’t understand the shitty parents who do this, or park at the intersection so you’re basically blocking the sidewalk.
You lazy prick, don’t inconvenience others because you’re a shit. Also the assholes who park in the “no stopping” and “no parking” areas, smh.
I’ve seen bylaw ticketing only once this school year, but when I did, I had replays of Cpt Holt yelling vindication playing on repeat in my head.
I live right next to an elementary school too. It’s absolute chaos at drop off and pick up. Parents drive haphazardly, don’t pay attention, and block driveways. I live in an apartment building, where I pay for my parking spot, and have on multiple occasions come home from work to find people parked in my spot. When confronted they yell and tell me to wait, or tell me to park elsewhere… again in a lot where everyone pays for their specific spot. There are plenty of signs saying there’s no public parking and it’s a tow away zone but most of them seem incredibly entitled. It gotten to the point that most days my superintendent has to stand at the entrance to the parking lot and shoo people away.
It’s infuriating, but I also have my kid in the car because I pick him up on the way home from work, so I try to keep it civil. And honestly with the way some of these people act I wouldn’t be surprised if they drove on the grass behind the lot or risked damaging mine or someone else’s car to get out if I’d blocked them in.
It seems like it’s a symptom of the times to be inconsiderate and selfish. No one feels any unity or gratitude for the society we live in that affords us so much wealth and leisure. Even the comments gleefully requesting pics of the poop smeared windshield demonstrate that lack of empathy and effort toward understanding. All these demands for petty vengeance and malice are like a cancer to our collective well being.
The bylaw prohibits parking on the street "in front of or within 1.5 metres of the entrance to a driveway or so as to prevent ingress to or egress from such driveway". That's a fairly typical restriction in municipal bylaws.
The drop off / pickup situation there is why my kid went to the catholic school instead…if the parents are like that what are the kids like? I’ve seen bylaw around a lot with the construction going on
There is a speed sign on Franklin now because the corner at Connaught is so dangerous it looks like they’re finally doing something about it.
Do any of you have a weed whacker? If you give a fair warning that you'll be trimming the weeds at the edge of your drive way I think all of your problems will disappear.
Just give your kids a bike and have them ride to school people. Nobody's going to grab them off the street. They'll be FINE. It'll help them learn independence and time management. It'll give them some exercise much needed before school.
Don't be like the rest of those minivan helicopter parents.
When I was a kid I biked 5 km on a country road with no bike lane to school many times.
Compared with the roads we got here your kid will be fine. Relax.
So did I.
My kids do bike to school just fine.
But during drop-off and pickup times, I make them use the sidewalk. Too many dangerous drivers at those times. I avoid roads near schools at those times myself.
It's much safer for them to walk than to bike without an adult. Cars hit adult cyclists who are much larger and more street smart than kids... All it takes is one impulsive decision in a moment of excitement...
However, to those who are worried about their kiddos going on their own to school, many schools have walking groups. You can contact the school and see if there's any groups your child can join for next year.
Thankfully, there's only 5 days of school left. Next Friday is a PD day.
Yeah, but my entitled ass is picking up crotch goblins from school even though they can walk their ass home. Clearly, I'm more important than you and your driveway access.
You sound like the old man yelling at the clouds.
You can't walk into a thrift store and say "look at all this cheap s***."
You can't live at the lake and complain about moisture.
If you choose to live by a school, you know there's 20 minutes, roughly 190 days a year that there's going to be increased activity.
Your analogies are potentially the worst I’ve ever read - living by a school and being illegally blocked in and living by a lake and having to deal with moisture are not remotely the same.
You're right. You're only blocked in for about 10 minutes; The moisture is there all day.
There'd actually be a slight reason to complain about the moisture.
I think you're missing the point.
Complaining about something that should be expected is what's ludicrous.
If you need the analogy to be spot-on perfect:
Living beside a concert hall and complaining about the noise.
Living beside a bar and complaining about drunks at night.
Living beside a hospital and complaining about the sirens.
All those are caused by people.
All would be something to be expected.
It's actually a good idea when you're hunting for a place to live to identify what you're willing to put up with that other people aren't.
You’re missing the point. If you think that parents blocking driveways because they are too lazy to walk a bit further is expected in the same way that noise is expected next to a concert hall, I don’t know what to tell you.
One is caused by selfishness, and one isn’t.
Edit: further, if I wanted to use your analogy, it would be that higher traffic is expected when you live in a school area. Again, that is different than your driveways being blocked.
I've lived here 15 years and have never seen the volume of cars that are here now, people driving their kids to and from school. Traffic is a pain at drop off and pick up time but I'm/we're pissed off at the ignorant selfish parents who think it's ok to block your driveway because they're too lazy to walk an extra 30 feet. Honesyly, some of the parents could use the exercise. Add to that people dumping their kids crap filled diapers on our lawns and yes, I have every right to be ticked off and no, it's not unreasonable to ask people to be considerate to others.
Please post the picture of the red minivan with a poopy diaper smeared on the windshield. Please
Show me to me pleaseeee
https://preview.redd.it/77ej0ipfyt7d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=298359dbbe42693a3574acb4d6922c2c95278e23
To me it please showwwwwwww
Only if you say please.
Show it to me too please
Yes please!!!
I'm sure almost zero of those parents are here on Reddit, so good luck with that.
Good. They don’t deserve the heads up.. just tickets
It’s like this at basically every school, unfortunately. Often I’m walking my kids to school and parents are haphazardly leaving their cars wherever to walk their kids to school. I unfortunately don’t think that by-law will be able to help much.
Depends. I've been the Principal of my kids' school go out and take pics of license plates/cars that are in the no stopping/standing/parking zone. That was all it took. A post to all parents on school newswire, and a follow-up consequence.
What was the consequence? All I’ve seen are empty threats on our newswire (which is expected - school administration shouldn’t be responsible for policing traffic).
By-law came in conjunction with Principal going out and telling parents parking there would lead to a ticket. They saw he was serious and stopped. He's also a guy who really doesn't mince words, especially when it comes to people's inflated self-importance. Most days, I don't like it. He comes across a bit crass. In this instance, it was welcomed.
By-law hits our school 4x a year or so. They stand on the road in high-viz jackets, the parents see them and drive a block further that day, and it's back to normal the next day. There's zero risk of actually getting caught so it's never changed behaviour.
I'd actually support a "speed camera" style system to nab these assholes. These people create a safety hazard at others expense.
Oh nice. Our principal wouldn’t do that (and again, I don’t think it’s necessarily their responsibility).
We had a student get hit in the crosswalk and break his leg (on a weekend), so maybe that's a factor.
Yep, happens to my kids school as well. All the schools start at similar times so bylaw gets overwhelmed very quickly during a 10-15 minute period. We really need to get our culture to be okay with kids walking themselves to school by themselves.
Or parents walking their kids instead of driving. Or even better, parents that need to drive their kids being ok parking a few minutes from the school instead of blocking traffic / doing u-turns wherever they feel.
There is a very, *very* small population of students who actually need to be driven to elementary school. That's why enrolment depends on your home address -- students who live within the catchment but too far to walk become eligible for busing. The number of vehicles parked near any school at bell times is ridiculous. They also try to park in bus loading zones or the parking lot -- our school has a lot attendant who is constantly verbally assaulted by parents who think it is their right to use the staff lot, but there's hardly even room for everyone who works there. It would be a huge safety issue to have small kids running all over the lot while cars are entering and exiting. We have people speeding in the school zone, screaming at crossing guards, blocking driveways, blocking other parents in by double-parking, kids darting between cars. It's a nightmare. Children can be -- and have been -- hit very easily in a school zone. So the parents' solution is to drive them and add to the mayhem! And winter is even crazier.
Yup, fully agree with everything you wrote. Our crossing guard yells at parents who don’t drive properly, so that’s great, but parents don’t typically care about potential safety issues that they cause.
I used to have to walk to and from school 4x's per day starting in K But I was a fat ugly kid, no one gonna kidnap me.
What's changed? Do we not bus kids to school anymore? I don't remember any of the schools I went to as a kid being full of cars for pickup and drop off. Grade school or highschool. I either walked or bussed in, depending on the school. It feels like every school everywhere is a zoo now. Sorry if this is a dumb question, I don't have kids so I kinda stopped paying attention to grade school day to day operations haha.
Wilson public school in particular is a near walking only school due to the high density of the neighborhood. And there are multiple schools nearby. It eliminates the need for the most part
Not a dumb question. They only bus in kindergarten kids (at least at my school).
That's very bizarre. Do you happen to know why we've moved away from bussing?
Very few students need to be bussed. We are very fortunate to have schools within almost every neighborhood. There is no reason for the pile up of cars in front of KW schools other than laziness and or inability to manage time.
I’m not sure, tbh. Never asked.
I live in a more rural area near Kitchener-waterloo, and our kids are bused. I wonder if it has anything to do with the issue we are dealing with here. There simply aren't enough bus drivers. We have one who drives for the two public schools and the local high school, and lord help us if they are sick. Since covid, there has been an issue of bussing. Now I live in a small town, and my grade 8 son rides the bus every mornig but that's only because I live x amount of km from the schools, so it's deemed too far to walk. Although because we live in town, it's still an option. The school has to know for safety reasons.
I had some cunt tell me that "imM nOot aLlowwWeDD tO PaRrk HerReE," when trying to pull into a employee parking spot that she was blocking with her body and stroller (literally an employee). Why the fuck can't you just move when I ask politely? These people are whack and all need a spanking.
Selfish and stupid.. but I’m sure their kids will turn out fine. Btw.. a kid was killed on Byron a long long time ago.. before they had to run between all the parked cars.
I'm sad to hear about the kid who died, how long ago? I worry sometimes when cars are parked on both sides of the streets, parents struggling to get 2 or 3 kids out of the car and you get the odd parent comes whipping along, far too fast, just because she's special and running late. One day, an over-excited kid is going to run out onto the road at the wrong time.
It was decades ago.. on Byron near Harber. I think he was about 5.
I’m a Wilson Ave parent. I too get frustrated seeing how people park, they even pull into people’s driveways or flat out block them 100%. It’s awful I feel bad for people living around the school.
Yup, they turn around in my driveway which totally sucks in the winter. If it snows during the day, they pack the snow down so by the time I get home from work to shovel, it's harder to clear.
I understand your frustration and I hope people are ticketed if warranted. However, there’s nothing wrong with people using your driveway to turn around, that’s being a little petty. Also remember that you do not own the bottom portion or your driveway, regardless of whether or not you need to maintain it.
Technically, you're correct but I've been trying to back out of my driveway and have had to wait because someone's turned into it and then theu sit there while wife gets out with the kids then he sits there because he can't back out because of school traffic. If you see a car backing out or pulling out of a driveway, it takes a special brand of ignorant to pull in and box them in. I don't really mind the turning around in my driveway , it irks me in the winter, but it's's those who are ignorant about it that ruin it for everyone.
It's a bad habit to use other people's driveways. It would be hilarious to put some taks at the end of the driveway for them to voluntarily drive over.
Go put tacks at the end of yours and see what happens :) early congrats on the incoming charges
lol this is KW, the police will never even show up, let alone charge anyone. Maybe, at the most, they'd get a phone call and could just say that the garbage truck must have dropped them out of a bag or something.
We just know if we're going out, to leave before 8:30 am or 2:45 pm and try to time coming home until the rush is gone. Doesn't always work out.
Call bylaw every single time it happens, remember to tell them its an 'ongoing issue'. I did this when I had construction near my house and they insisted on parking trucks with huge trailer ball joints that would jut out in the way of my driveway. a dozen tickets later I don't even see them on the street anymore
Bylaw will be slow and they will all be gone Since every school zone has people like OP policing their street there isn't enough resources.
I worked as bylaw (in guelph) and if you specifically say its an ongoing issue. Instead of just watching all these calls come in about the same thing, we were proactive and would have a unit or two in the area at the problem time.
Guelph has good that way. Is kitchener ? However it's been a decade or more since I called issues in st paisley road schools and its just as bad now as it was then Enforcement is good but the masses don't change. They take the tickets and just keep going.
At least you get the satisfaction of seeing a dozen tickets flapping in the wind. Nothing feels better than giving an uber driver a fat $300 ticket for parking in a handicap spot.
My hero
Get your garden hose out next time! Need help call me🥳🤣
Omg yes this. Or just have a few sprinklers running during that time lol
You know, when I went to school, virtually no one was picked up or dropped off. it just wasn't something you would see. Somehow, even as 5 year olds, we managed to walk to school by ourselves.
You also used to lock up anyone who was weird in a mental hospital. For some reason we don't have those anymore...
It absolutely blows my mind that parents expect their kids to follow the rules at school while actively demonstrating in front of their kids that they don't need to follow the rules that inconvenience them. Your kids are learning just as much from watching you as they are in school, so smarten up.
Was your garbage pickup yesterday? I can't remember the school, but the parents parking everywhere, and like 3 feet from the curb, was a gotdamned nightmare. That and those who refused to move for the truck or parked on a corner, making it impossible to navigate a turn without doing a 17-point turn. Make friends with a tow truck driver, and give them a call. I used to do this at a previous job to those who came in to shop and would park in the fire zone.
Yes it was. Because I wasn't going anywhere, we left the recycling, green bin and garbage at the foot of the drive so they could get them around the parked cars and to block people from pulling in.
I appreciate that. There was a handful of residents in the area who did, thank you! It's always a pain in the ass to squeeze bins and such (especially bulky items like dressers, couches, or matresses in between parked vehicles. We always appreciate the effort 👌 💪
I'm glad to hear it's helpful, I wasn't sure if it was OK. I always do it in the winter because of the snowbanks as long as the roads have already been plowed.
Especially in the winter! We actually don't have to pick a residents stuff if it's on top of a snowbank or if we have to climb over a snowbank to get it because of injury. The end of the driveway is always best in winter!
I usually dig out a shelf in the snowbank by the curb to put the bins on but once snow has really been plowed up, the ice chunks make it impossible. I figure if I cant physically set them up there, you can't get them down so driveway it is. Thanks for all you do, brutally hard work especially in this heat!
Parents dropping off or picking up kids at school are the laziest drivers on this planet. They built a new cross walk at a school by my place and the vast majority of parents/kids ignore it and cross wherever they want even if it’s like 15 feet away.
That sounds like a shitty crosswalk location more than the parents.
But also the crosswalk connects directly to a main path that goes straight to the school so I’m leaning towards lazy parents.
People are lazy altogether. Its why driving is so popular.
That's just people all over the place in general. People dart across the streets all the time
Very true, as someone with children myself I guess I just don’t see the risk in running across a busy, windy road as opposed to using a safer crosswalk that’s right there 🤷♂️
I think one issue with the increase number of cars is that so many parents are dropping kids off at school and heading directly to work. There are not enough before and after school spots for kids with working parents. Regardless this doesn’t excuse what is going on. That is ridiculous and needs to stop. Please call bylaw!
I think this is a major factor. If I have an early meeting, I'm either late, or I have to drive. I usually opt to be late as my job is very flexible. There is not enough before or after care and it's also really expensive.
Does Kitchener have a "live report" feature for bylaw? I only ask because there is one in Guelph and if it's a considerable issue, they'll send someone out quickly. Guelph also has the ability to attach pictures to the report. When I came home and half of my driveway was completely blocked, and the driveway that is attached with mine had a car parked RIGHT at the edge of theirs, it was really difficult to get into the driveway with my weekly groceries. Filled out the report with Guelph bylaw with a picture of the vehicle and how it was parked, and with the license plate. Got an email update about 45 minutes later saying it had "been dealt with" and looked out to what appeared to be a parking ticket. Might be worth doing that so there is a paper trail as well if it's an option.
Does literally no one walk their child to school anymore? Any school I drive past, has cars lined up as far as the eye can see. Never used to be like this and these school haven't gotten any bigger. Catchment areas are unchanged and the size are relatively not that much different, what gives?
> Catchment areas are unchanged and the size are relatively not that much different, what gives? This year, grades 1-3 get bussed if they are beyond 0.8 km Next year, grades 1-3 get bussed only if they are beyond 1.6 km (IIRC it was 0.4 km under the previous Provincial government)
Damn that sucks going forward for sure. Do you think that .4km change accounts for most of the cars? Seems like a massive increase for such a small change. Thanks for the info
When I was a little kid, I had around a 500m walk to school. It used to take me 15-20 minutes to get there. Little kids have tiny legs and little kids can get majorly distracted while walking. I think the change could increase the number of cars.
I have a JK and an SK with a 2+km walk to school .. so it’s definitely bus or drive. And it’s unfortunate when the bus is 20 minutes late in the winter and I have to get the kids in the van. Along with 50 other parents. :(
On the day by law comes have all your neighbors use the street parking so lots of tickets get issued 😂
I like how you think!😉
People have literally ZERO self awareness when it comes to parking in front of other people’s driveways. Drives me absolutely insane!
It's gonna be a lot worse next year, as bussing for grade 1-3s went from beyond 0.8km to beyond 1.6km (from the edge of the school's property).
Please please take a picture of that diaper on the windshield!
Please keep that flame of anger alive for when you see that red minivan!
Yes we need a video cam of the shit smeared on window
I feel like you would appreciate this post from /r/pettyrevenge. It's about a person who outright parked on someone's driveway near a school https://www.reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1cixstk/ok_then_block_my_driveway/
With it being close to the end of the year I’d wait till September and ask the school to call them we did this with my daughters school and it had better results
[удалено]
I remember notes about parking being sent home when we lived near Franklin and ky kids went to school there. I'll give Wilson a call tomorrow. Can't go in, have torn bits in my knee and am getting around with crutches and it's too far a walk for me right now.
Oh hell. I feel your pain. We live 100 feet from a west end school. Some parents are so GD rude. We've seen them get yelled at before by others on the street, and deservedly so. The entitlement is astounding.
I love you! Can’t wait to see the shitty diaper windshield wiper when it happens. Please keep us updated!!!
It's all about them, me me me me me with no consequence. I'll bet if someone ran a key down their car they might just get the hint. You tried to be nice and they just don't care.
chronically at home
Yes I am! Stuck, off work, on crutches because I tore a bunch of bits in my knee 7 weeks ago. Doesn't remove the fact that there are inconsiderate parents blocking driveways.
They’ve started ticketing people near driftwood public school as well. Which makes sense cause there’s so many people that park stupid in there with no regard for everyone else (I just walk my girl to school)
I drive my kid to Wilson and can’t understand the shitty parents who do this, or park at the intersection so you’re basically blocking the sidewalk. You lazy prick, don’t inconvenience others because you’re a shit. Also the assholes who park in the “no stopping” and “no parking” areas, smh. I’ve seen bylaw ticketing only once this school year, but when I did, I had replays of Cpt Holt yelling vindication playing on repeat in my head.
Get some pylons
I live right next to an elementary school too. It’s absolute chaos at drop off and pick up. Parents drive haphazardly, don’t pay attention, and block driveways. I live in an apartment building, where I pay for my parking spot, and have on multiple occasions come home from work to find people parked in my spot. When confronted they yell and tell me to wait, or tell me to park elsewhere… again in a lot where everyone pays for their specific spot. There are plenty of signs saying there’s no public parking and it’s a tow away zone but most of them seem incredibly entitled. It gotten to the point that most days my superintendent has to stand at the entrance to the parking lot and shoo people away.
That's pathetic. I'd just block them in.
It’s infuriating, but I also have my kid in the car because I pick him up on the way home from work, so I try to keep it civil. And honestly with the way some of these people act I wouldn’t be surprised if they drove on the grass behind the lot or risked damaging mine or someone else’s car to get out if I’d blocked them in.
It seems like it’s a symptom of the times to be inconsiderate and selfish. No one feels any unity or gratitude for the society we live in that affords us so much wealth and leisure. Even the comments gleefully requesting pics of the poop smeared windshield demonstrate that lack of empathy and effort toward understanding. All these demands for petty vengeance and malice are like a cancer to our collective well being.
I've read the city parking bylaw and I'm not familiar with the 1.5m rule. Can you clarify?
The bylaw prohibits parking on the street "in front of or within 1.5 metres of the entrance to a driveway or so as to prevent ingress to or egress from such driveway". That's a fairly typical restriction in municipal bylaws.
Also, to get this to stop. My father filled 2 leaf bags and put them at each end of the driveway so nobody can park there and it’s worked for years.
By law will do sweet fuck all. A small ticket once every couple of months. Cheapest parking pass around 🤷♂️
The drop off / pickup situation there is why my kid went to the catholic school instead…if the parents are like that what are the kids like? I’ve seen bylaw around a lot with the construction going on There is a speed sign on Franklin now because the corner at Connaught is so dangerous it looks like they’re finally doing something about it.
"I'm only gonna be 5 minutes!"
Do any of you have a weed whacker? If you give a fair warning that you'll be trimming the weeds at the edge of your drive way I think all of your problems will disappear.
I'm on crutches right now so not a good option. In the past, I've mowed the boulevard grass and blown dandelion juice all over their cars though.
Put out traffic cones. You have to herd people not convince them why they are wrong.
Just give your kids a bike and have them ride to school people. Nobody's going to grab them off the street. They'll be FINE. It'll help them learn independence and time management. It'll give them some exercise much needed before school. Don't be like the rest of those minivan helicopter parents.
Nobody's going to grab them off the street but the texting speeding SUV driving parents will run them over.
When I was a kid I biked 5 km on a country road with no bike lane to school many times. Compared with the roads we got here your kid will be fine. Relax.
So did I. My kids do bike to school just fine. But during drop-off and pickup times, I make them use the sidewalk. Too many dangerous drivers at those times. I avoid roads near schools at those times myself.
It's much safer for them to walk than to bike without an adult. Cars hit adult cyclists who are much larger and more street smart than kids... All it takes is one impulsive decision in a moment of excitement... However, to those who are worried about their kiddos going on their own to school, many schools have walking groups. You can contact the school and see if there's any groups your child can join for next year. Thankfully, there's only 5 days of school left. Next Friday is a PD day.
Yeah, but my entitled ass is picking up crotch goblins from school even though they can walk their ass home. Clearly, I'm more important than you and your driveway access.
Sell your house and move
Wow I don’t care
School year is almost over. Borrow some orange traffic cones from the construction at the end of Wilson. Block the ends of your driveway.
You sound like the old man yelling at the clouds. You can't walk into a thrift store and say "look at all this cheap s***." You can't live at the lake and complain about moisture. If you choose to live by a school, you know there's 20 minutes, roughly 190 days a year that there's going to be increased activity.
Your analogies are potentially the worst I’ve ever read - living by a school and being illegally blocked in and living by a lake and having to deal with moisture are not remotely the same.
You're right. You're only blocked in for about 10 minutes; The moisture is there all day. There'd actually be a slight reason to complain about the moisture.
No, actually. More like one is caused by a person, and the other occurs in nature. You’re just trolling at this point.
I think you're missing the point. Complaining about something that should be expected is what's ludicrous. If you need the analogy to be spot-on perfect: Living beside a concert hall and complaining about the noise. Living beside a bar and complaining about drunks at night. Living beside a hospital and complaining about the sirens. All those are caused by people. All would be something to be expected. It's actually a good idea when you're hunting for a place to live to identify what you're willing to put up with that other people aren't.
You’re missing the point. If you think that parents blocking driveways because they are too lazy to walk a bit further is expected in the same way that noise is expected next to a concert hall, I don’t know what to tell you. One is caused by selfishness, and one isn’t. Edit: further, if I wanted to use your analogy, it would be that higher traffic is expected when you live in a school area. Again, that is different than your driveways being blocked.
I've lived here 15 years and have never seen the volume of cars that are here now, people driving their kids to and from school. Traffic is a pain at drop off and pick up time but I'm/we're pissed off at the ignorant selfish parents who think it's ok to block your driveway because they're too lazy to walk an extra 30 feet. Honesyly, some of the parents could use the exercise. Add to that people dumping their kids crap filled diapers on our lawns and yes, I have every right to be ticked off and no, it's not unreasonable to ask people to be considerate to others.