Parents picking up their children from a Mitchells Plain school claim the principal piemps them to traffic cops instead of finding a solution.
Sulyman Stellenberg says he has gotten a number of fines while picking up his twin sons from Wespoort Primary School.
“I am disabled and I have a two-door car, so when I get my kids or drop them off, then I have to stop the car so they can get in and out but then I get into trouble with the principal and traffic cops who say I am parking illegally,” he explains.
“The school does have bays across the road where you can drop off the children but only three cars can park there at a time and that road is always busy.
“In the afternoon, it is even worse so parents have to park on the pavement and then the principal calls the traffic cops to give us fines.
“There is no disabled parking bay and when I told the principal this, he said I must go park by the bus stop but that is when I keep getting fines.”
When the Daily Voice visited the school on the corner of Westpoort and Merrydale Road during the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up, cars took up the pavement while the parking bays were full and a line of cars formed outside the school.
Sulyman said: “They do not allow us to go inside the school. body.copy.three...: “The whole Merrydale is full of cars parked on pavements outside schools but this principal is the only one that gives us fines and when you try to call him, then he just tells you that it’s his school so it’s his rules.”
Principal Rodney Hendricks says he is trying to protect pedestrians from cars that drive on the pavement and the traffic cops are just doing their jobs.
“We need to stop people from driving on the pavement outside the school and the traffic officials are looking into the matter.
“That is all this is about, and there is nothing more to it.”