Canberra parents targeted in school zone speed and park fine rise

The ACT government's plan to raise penalties in the zones came as the number of parking fines in school areas doubled this year amid parent and government concern about children's safety.

ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations executive board member Vivienne Pearce said parents welcomed the added fine for those speeding, but said education was the better option for parents who had no option but to struggle to find a park.

"We would be more supportive initially of warning people in relation to the parking," she said.

"I would like to see more preventative measures, more alternative options, like a spot a couple of blocks away being a designated drop zone, and the school manage the walking from there."

But ACT government parking coordinator general Ben Ponton said a focus on warnings for parking infringements in 2013-14 - when 103 fines were issued in school areas - had not changed behaviour, leading to the crackdown this year which has seen 191 fines issued in the 11 months to May 31.

The parking action plan changes – listed to occur within a vague two-five year timeframe – are part of a range of measures designed to remove congestion and improve safety, including improved signage, increased enforcement activity and a review of the pickup/set down provisions.

"Particular interventions will be trialled as part of the Active Streets pilot project, which is looking at how infrastructure, behaviour and technology can encourage more students to walk, ride or scoot to school," the report said.

Harrison School parents were among the most critical of those who responded to the council's school safety survey last year.

Three-quarters of Harrison parents who answered the survey had witnessed an accident or near miss around their school, with a third saying this happened "often".

The school's parents and citizens association president Michael Stoddart said a lack of parking options was the main problem, which led to cars having to circle the off-street lanes and some children walking through traffic to follow their parents.

"A lack of parks is driving people to park illegally – fines are not going to fix that problem," he said.

Mr Stoddart said Ms Pearce's idea for a more distant drop zone might work, provided the school committed the staff resources to it.

No specifics on the penalty increases have been released.

In NSW, drivers exceeding the speed limit by no more than 20km/h in a school zone receive an extra demerit point and additional $73 fine, which rises to an added $218 fine if more than 30km/h over the limit.