New parking restrictions have been approved for Greenhill Crescent in Elderslie as councillors backed action to improve safety for children and pedestrians near Wallace Primary School.
Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board agreed to press ahead with the order on Wednesday 18th March after hearing that the area had become a long-running problem at school drop-off and pick-up times.
The restriction forms part of the council’s wider Consolidation and Amendment Order 1006, which covers waiting, loading and parking changes at dozens of locations across Renfrewshire.
Officers said Greenhill Crescent was one of only a handful of sites in the order to attract objections. They recommended going ahead with the proposal, arguing that the current situation created an unacceptable risk when large numbers of children were using the footway and that there was not enough road space to allow parking on both sides while keeping traffic moving safely.
During the meeting, councillors said poor driver behaviour around the school had been an issue for years.
Johnstone South and Elderslie councillor Iain McMillan said he had visited the area with officers and had also looked at it himself. He said there was no doubt that it was a real problem and that some drivers were putting people, particularly children, at risk.
He said many people parked further away and walked their children to school, but others were still causing danger. He welcomed action being taken, while also warning that restrictions on one street could simply push the problem elsewhere.
Photo: The staff car park entrance to Wallace Primary School is on Greenhill Crescent
Photo Credit: Renfrewshire News
Councillor Jacqueline Cameron said the same concerns had been raised for years and that the issue had still not been resolved. She said something more radical might eventually be needed if behaviour did not change.
The board also heard concerns about enforcement and drainage in the area. Councillor Andy Steel asked about residents’ reports of patchy enforcement and whether claims that a gully had been covered over during resurfacing works could be checked.
Officers said they would look again at enforcement in that location and would also investigate the drainage point.
Convener Michelle Campbell said she accepted that concerns raised in late correspondence from parents and residents could not formally be treated as objections under the legal process, but said they should not be ignored.
She said officers would engage with local ward councillors and the parent council after the decision and review how the new restrictions worked in practice.
The board agreed not to uphold the objections and approved the order.
The wider traffic order covers 42 proposed changes across Renfrewshire, including school keep clears, waiting restrictions, loading bays and parking controls in Paisley, Johnstone, Renfrew, Bishopton, Brookfield, Elderslie and Kilbarchan.