WITH the schools now officially back after the Easter break, it’s time to make sure pupils no longer face any dangers outside the school gates.

Over the last few weeks, the Times has actively campaigned to raise greater awareness of road safety issues affecting schools in Irvine and Kilwinning and what steps the authorities are taking to curb the problem.

Every year, children’s lives are put at risk by parents and guardians parking on yellow zig-zag lines, pavements or other areas near the entrances of schools.

From releasing banners with effective slogans to monitoring the speed of vehicles, there are many initiatives that schools are taking part in and now you too can show your support.

As we have reported, police are stepping up their efforts to tackle the issue with their Safe Positive Communities initiative in the towns after a spate of illegal parking and speeding outside of schools.

Castlepark was one of the areas highlighted as problematic and police have worked closely with pupils at Castlepark Primary School to track the speed of vehicles and issuing tickets to a number of drivers.

The issue came to the fore back in January when an eight-year-old boy was knocked down by a car outside the school. Luckily he escaped with only minor injuries but concerned parents and locals took to social media to call for more to be done about the problems.

North Ayrshire Council faced calls to adopt a similar measure carried out by East Lothian Council which banned vehicles on roads leading up to local primary schools in the town of Haddington, becoming the first in Scotland to do so.

However NAC revealed they were not going to introduce a similar ban but would continue to promote their own road safety initiatives, including the Park Smart campaign.

This has been adopted by St Luke’s Primary in Kilwinning and, more recently, Irvine’s St Mark’s Primary which urges people to park responsibly with the message “Parking at school gates is dangerous and selfish”.

The ‘Park Smart’ initiative was developed by Road Safety West of Scotland.

Councillor Robert Steel, Chair of RSWOS commented: “Irresponsible parking and driving around schools poses a considerable risk to both child and adult pedestrians.

“It is important for us to encourage parents to consider the possible consequences that may result from thoughtless actions.

“It is understandable that busy parents wish to drop their children off as close to the school as possible.

“However, the important issue is about keeping all our children safe when they are crossing roads outside schools rather than convenience and saving time.

“We encourage the use of alternatives such as leaving the car at home and walking or cycling to school or parking further away and finishing the journey on foot.” So if you’re a parent, guardian or just a local resident, avoid parking outside school gates as you could well be putting lives at risk.