Pensioners hit out at staff blocking street
Fed-up pensioners say their lives are made a misery by school staff who park their cars in their street of bungalows.
Fed-up pensioners say their lives are made a misery by school staff who park their cars in their street of bungalows.
Residents of Pound Road, Oldbury, say the street is regularly blocked on school days with teachers' cars lining the road.
Oldbury College of Sport is also based in the street. And they say ambulances and ring-and-ride buses are struggling to get to people who live in the street. Mr Geoff Harper, aged 68, who has lived in Pound Road for five years, said people were being forced to park away from their own homes as a result.
The grandfather-of-five said: "There are 24 bungalows all occupied by OAPs who rely on taxis and the ring-and-ride bus to be able to get about but we have a problem with the school on the opposite side of the road.
"The problem is with the teachers parking outside the bungalows thus making it impossible for vehicles, including the emergency services, to attend to us in case we need them," said the retired foundry worker.
Mr Harper said the problem was making residents' lives "uncomfortable" and he had been in talks with the deputy headteacher in a bid to solve it. He said: "An ambulance that attended to one elderly resident the other day actually parked in the middle of the road stopping all traffic because there was nowhere to park..
"No emergency services, doctors, nurses etc can park outside the bungalows."
Roy and Joan Jones have lived in their bungalow for five years. Retired plumber Roy, aged 77, has to park his own car in nearby Farm Road, but last Thursday the back windscreen was smashed by vandals.
He said: "Sometimes my wife has to be picked up by ambulance and it can't park. I have asked for a disabled spot and they won't give us one. I have to park my car round the corner." He added: "What I would like to see is a space to put the ambulances and ring and ride."
Oldbury College of Sport did not return the Express & Star's phone calls requesting a comment. Steven Frear, ward councillor for Oldbury, said: "This is an historic problem. I went in and spoke to the school a few years back and they promised they would look at it."
