Frustrated Chineham resident buys her own traffic cones to stop inconsiderate parking

6:30pm Monday 25th February 2013 in Local By Adam Richards

The cones in Maybrook, Chineham The cones in Maybrook, Chineham

A FRUSTRATED Chineham resident has shelled out nearly £100 to stop people clogging up her street during the school run.

Melanie Jansen, of Maybrook, in Chineham, spent £90 to buy 10 yellow traffic cones to line the street.

She uses them to stop parents parking in Maybrook when they drop off children at nearby Four Lanes Community Junior School.

Ms Jansen, who works as a revenue protection officer with South West Trains, and a care worker at Basingfield Court, said drivers routinely ignore signs that restrict parking at the road’s entrance between 8.30am and 9.30am, and 2.45pm and 3.45pm.

She added that she struggles to enter Maybrook, or park near her home, when returning from work.

“This issue has been going on for a long time,” said Ms Jansen, who has lived in Maybrook for two-and-a-half years.

“It’s not just dangerous and nuisance parking – people have been abusive when we have told them not to park.

“People do not seem to understand that we can’t get in and out.

“I am not happy about the cones being outside my house but it has to be done.”

However, the cones have attracted criticism from one Maybrook resident. In a letter sent to The Gazette, the resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said parking on Maybrook is not restricted to residents.

“Some residents have decided, without any authority from the council or police, to place no parking bollards in front of their properties,” the letter read.

“As far as I am aware, and as a council tax-paying driver, Maybrook is a public road and drivers can park there if they so desire.”

However, Ms Jansen stressed that she has the permission of Chineham beat officers to put the bollards out.

She added that since she started using the cones in September last year, the parking problem has stopped. “It seems to be working,” she said.

Comments(22)

JJ38JJ says...
8:16am Tue 26 Feb 13

And now that parents have read this story and realise the cones are the work of a busy body with nothing better to do they will ignore them.
I wonder where she parks her car?

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Sensory says...
8:57am Tue 26 Feb 13

I see she's lived there for 2 and a half years. I wonder how long the school has been there?

Personally, when I spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a house near a school (or indeed near anything), I like to see what the traffic is like during the school run/evenings/weekend
s etc. An avoidable error there Ms J.

It will certainly save on buying post-its and the time it takes to write "Do not park here" on them 200 times anyhow.

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laurence86 says...
9:16am Tue 26 Feb 13

I had a little bit of sympathy for her plight right up until I read ““This issue has been going on for a long time,” said Ms Jansen, who has lived in Maybrook for two-and-a-half years.” If you move into a house next to a school you should expect this! I am not condoning inconsiderate drivers parking in silly places, but it’s not her place to dictate the traffic rules for her own road. The main question that comes to my mind is; is she obstructing the queen’s highway (£1,000 fine) or littering the street (£75 fine) either way she has no legal right to do what she is doing.

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RgPostcode says...
9:39am Tue 26 Feb 13

This road is across a main road from the school btw...

Why would parents park in a road to then take their kids to cross Chinehams busiest road?

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Cynical Reader says...
2:36pm Tue 26 Feb 13

"Why would parents park in a road to then take their kids to cross Chinehams busiest road?"

Why did the chicken cross the road?

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RgPostcode says...
6:31pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Cynical Reader wrote:
"Why would parents park in a road to then take their kids to cross Chinehams busiest road?"

Why did the chicken cross the road?
You're probably oblivious to how stupid that sarcastic comment really is.

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alan partridge says...
1:48pm Wed 27 Feb 13

AHA!

I may go and park my car there and leave it for the day. Just for the crack....

The safety of children come 1st. Stop your twisting.

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Alfie The Dog says...
1:46pm Thu 28 Feb 13

"Ms Jansen, said drivers routinely ignore signs that restrict parking at the road’s entrance between 8.30am and 9.30am, and 2.45pm and 3.45pm."

So why not put the cones there? These cones are placed where there is no parking restrictions at all.

Also I am annoyed that the article doesn't mentions that some of these cones have 'Hants Const' boldly written on them, seemingly to give the impression they belong to the Hampshire Constabulary.

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laurence86 says...
2:03pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Alfie The Dog wrote:
"Ms Jansen, said drivers routinely ignore signs that restrict parking at the road’s entrance between 8.30am and 9.30am, and 2.45pm and 3.45pm." So why not put the cones there? These cones are placed where there is no parking restrictions at all. Also I am annoyed that the article doesn't mentions that some of these cones have 'Hants Const' boldly written on them, seemingly to give the impression they belong to the Hampshire Constabulary.
Is that legal? Seriously this woman should be fined!

Feel sorry for her neighbours, those cones aren’t exactly aesthetically pleasing. Plus they are going to have to explain to people “no they are not our cones, they belong to the crazy lady over there”. Mind you if the council go round and confiscate them they would have saved themselves £100

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robertspet8 says...
4:42pm Thu 28 Feb 13

RgPostcode wrote:
This road is across a main road from the school btw... Why would parents park in a road to then take their kids to cross Chinehams busiest road?
I don't know why and I don't know why so many parents drive their children to school. They seem to have a distorted view of the real risks involved in getting their children to and from school.
I cannot claim to have any insight into the mind of Cynical Reader, but his question is no less answerable than your's. I cannot answer either or even my own.

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robertspet8 says...
4:46pm Thu 28 Feb 13

If Melanie Jansen was hoping to encourage parents to park away from her house I think she may have failed judging by the comments posted here. She may live to regret the publicity which only confrms that there is no legal reason why anyone cannot park outside her house.

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Upontheroof says...
11:18am Fri 1 Mar 13

That is disgusting. 10 cones at £9 each is far too expensive!

On a serious note, I have witnessed first hand how parents parking near schools, have either blocked off driveways and even parked in them!

Although, why move near to a school and them moan about it? There is no value in having your life consumed by something like this. I would suggest a move will be on the cards but how will they deal with the wonderful world of estate agents? - they won't be able to cone them off!

Whose to blame? Ignorant lazy parents or someone who thinks they own the road?

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BugBear says...
3:37pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Another consequence of our child-centric society where parents out of guilt, molly coddle and spoil their children because they are guilt ridden with divorce, are never at home because they are working all hours to pay mortgages they can't afford or are just braindead consumers who replace any spiritual meaning in their lives with material greed. Kids use to walk to school and take risks, now they are little pods that get dropped off, programmed, picked up and returned to their pointless existence to grow up and repeat the whole process over again. There is no hope, we are doomed.

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Upontheroof says...
4:00pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Ha ha, at bugbear, I love the reply and you are so spot on. You should be a journalist for the gazette!

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BugBear says...
7:20pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Upontheroof wrote:
Ha ha, at bugbear, I love the reply and you are so spot on. You should be a journalist for the gazette!
Many thanks, I could do with a job but to be honest I doubt if they would have me, probably think I'm a nutter :-)

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Folkestone Saint says...
10:52pm Sun 3 Mar 13

BugBear wrote:
Another consequence of our child-centric society where parents out of guilt, molly coddle and spoil their children because they are guilt ridden with divorce, are never at home because they are working all hours to pay mortgages they can't afford or are just braindead consumers who replace any spiritual meaning in their lives with material greed. Kids use to walk to school and take risks, now they are little pods that get dropped off, programmed, picked up and returned to their pointless existence to grow up and repeat the whole process over again. There is no hope, we are doomed.
Thankfuly my world is a lot nicer place to live in than your's, dammed if you do dammed if you don't on your planet

Report this post »

BugBear says...
1:36am Mon 4 Mar 13

Folkestone Saint wrote:
BugBear wrote:
Another consequence of our child-centric society where parents out of guilt, molly coddle and spoil their children because they are guilt ridden with divorce, are never at home because they are working all hours to pay mortgages they can't afford or are just braindead consumers who replace any spiritual meaning in their lives with material greed. Kids use to walk to school and take risks, now they are little pods that get dropped off, programmed, picked up and returned to their pointless existence to grow up and repeat the whole process over again. There is no hope, we are doomed.
Thankfuly my world is a lot nicer place to live in than your's, dammed if you do dammed if you don't on your planet
I'm happy for you.

Report this post »

Folkestone Saint says...
9:34am Mon 4 Mar 13

BugBear wrote:
Folkestone Saint wrote:
BugBear wrote:
Another consequence of our child-centric society where parents out of guilt, molly coddle and spoil their children because they are guilt ridden with divorce, are never at home because they are working all hours to pay mortgages they can't afford or are just braindead consumers who replace any spiritual meaning in their lives with material greed. Kids use to walk to school and take risks, now they are little pods that get dropped off, programmed, picked up and returned to their pointless existence to grow up and repeat the whole process over again. There is no hope, we are doomed.
Thankfuly my world is a lot nicer place to live in than your's, dammed if you do dammed if you don't on your planet
I'm happy for you.
Why thankyou BB

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The Mad Mike 1 says...
4:10pm Sat 23 Mar 13

It used to be that anybody could put these cones out,but to be legal this had to be placed by the police,so unless the law has changed this woman has put these cones in the highway,and nobody need take any notice of them,or did she get the police beat officers to do it for her? in which case they would be legal and have to be obeyed.

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Alfie The Dog says...
5:10pm Sat 23 Mar 13

No she just puts them out whenever it suits her. She will put them in the front garden during school holidays & weekends. No police have ever touched her cones.

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theKman says...
6:35pm Mon 25 Mar 13

It happens at so many schools. Street parking is banned between those times, but its never enforced. Lazy parents ignore the rules and get away with it.

The opinion of many is "she knew there was a school there". Yes, and she saw that parking is NOT allowed there for school drop off.


Take care when backing out Melanie :)

http://money.msn.com
/auto-insurance/when
-a-parked-car-is-at-
fault-carinsurance.a
spx

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Alfie The Dog says...
7:12pm Mon 25 Mar 13

theKman wrote:
It happens at so many schools. Street parking is banned between those times, but its never enforced. Lazy parents ignore the rules and get away with it.

The opinion of many is "she knew there was a school there". Yes, and she saw that parking is NOT allowed there for school drop off.


Take care when backing out Melanie :)

http://money.msn.com

/auto-insurance/when

-a-parked-car-is-at-

fault-carinsurance.a

spx
Parking 'IS' allowed outside her house, there is no restrictions whatsoever where she lives.
The other end of the street however HAS got restrictions with signs & lines on the road. But the signs apply to the area indicated by the lines on the road & NOT to anywhere near her house.

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