Parents and residents believe ignorant drivers, poor planning and public transport are making children's short journeys to and from school more dangerous.
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Their comments follow a Canberra Times report on Friday of cars being driven on the wrong side of the road and double parking, obscuring children and school crossing flags and blocking residents' driveways around Telopea Park School, Barton.
A shortage of parking and ensuing chaos are a nightmare, according to school principal Kerrie Blain. A road safety audit and parking study for the ACT government came to much the same conclusion last year.
''Quite dangerous stopping and sometimes parking is occurring immediately before, and even on, the raised platform school crossing,'' the audit report said.
''This parking is obscuring one of the school crossing flags, which are the main legal indicators that a school crossing is in operation.
''In practice at the times when such obscuring is occurring, the users are mainly the regular drivers who use this road repetitively and are very aware of these facilities.''
Residents expect two new office block developments between Sydney and Canberra Avenue, more unit developments in Barton and paid parking in the parliamentary triangle from July to intensify parking problems.
One resident says new security fencing around schools is creating a more concentrated ''choke point'' at school entrances.
A roads blackspot, the New South Wales Crescent/Manuka Circle/Telopea Park intersection has recorded significant crashes. Over five years 39 right-angle crashes happened on one corner, including six causing injuries.
ACT Council of Parents and Citizens president Vivienne Pearce said trends across the territory indicated fewer children were walking to school, or catching the bus.
''Parents are becoming a taxi service. Both parents are working, they have after-school activities to take into account. It becomes a logistic nightmare sometimes.
''I can see parents might take the easy option of driving the kids to schools themselves.
''We can't take our eye off the ball with this one because ultimately, the worst could happen, some kid gets knocked over. I'm not saying it is going to happen tomorrow.''
Ms Pearce has lobbied the government over the three years she has been president, and some steps had been taken.
The council was not blaming any particular group, or the government, and there was no single solution.
''There should be more use of buses, to start with,'' she said.
More ''walking bus'' activities, where groups of children and an adult walked to school; parents dropping off their children a block or two away from school; and flashing lights at crossings were other possible solutions.