NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Parents causing 'chaos at the school gate'

Nikki Preston
By Nikki Preston
NZ Herald·
28 Jun, 2012 05:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Woodstock principal Steve Osterman says teachers have been abused when asking parents to move their vehicles from the school's entrances. Photo / Christine Cornege.

Woodstock principal Steve Osterman says teachers have been abused when asking parents to move their vehicles from the school's entrances. Photo / Christine Cornege.

Teachers are being yelled at or rudely ignored when they approach drivers parked illegally outside Woodstock School and the principal has told them to stop out of concern for their safety.

Last week a Hamilton City Council parking warden was hit in the face by the mother of a Hamilton West School mother who had parked in a private driveway near the school.

Hamilton police said they were still investigating the incident, and no charges have yet been laid.

Woodstock School principal Steve Ostermann said the issue of parents parking in illegal spots outside city schools was an ongoing challenge.

The council worked with 21 schools identified as having traffic issues outside the gates.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Ostermann's biggest concern was keeping children safe before and after school.

The roads around Woodstock School were heavily congested and parents parked on broken yellow lines and across driveways instead of parking further away and walking in.

Teachers and some concerned parents patrol the school's two entrances - outside Fairfield Rd and Anson Ave - before and after school but no longer asked parents to move.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We were formally doing that all the time and being polite and courteous in the way we were doing it.

"But the problem was we were being abused or ignored.

"Therefore we don't encourage our staff to approach anybody - just to take the registration number and supply that to police," Mr Ostermann said.

The parking problem escalated during winter when parents dropped their children off at the gates.

Discover more

Opinion

Eric Thompson: The pain of parking

06 Sep 05:30 PM
New Zealand|crime

Parking warden punched by angry mum outside school

25 Jun 05:30 PM

Some Hamilton schools have called in Hamilton City Council and police to help control the problem.

The council's parking enforcement staff patrolled outside schools at times but focused on educating parents and only ticketed vehicles as a last resort.

Staff also aimed to increase the number of pupils who walked or cycled to school by 10 per cent.

A neighbour of Te Rapa Primary School said cars blocked her driveway at least three times a week.

Two weeks ago she asked a driver to move so she could reverse out of her driveway and said the father was sarcastic and then beckoned her over.

"I felt very scared and very intimidated. It's not very pleasant," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It annoys me they think they can get away with it."

Hillcrest Normal School principal Irene Cooper said some days the school's property manager would stand outside the gate in a high-visibility jacket with a clipboard monitoring behaviour.

"Our parents say one of the biggest issues for them is parking in the school.

"But our schools weren't designed for you to come in and park, it's quite a novel idea. And if you went to school in Wellington you'd be paying for parking on the street."

The school had a roll of 560 students yet its drop off and pick up area hadn't grown since it had 350 children.

Pukete School issued reminder notices to parents who parked in the pick up and drop off area during peak times.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hukanui School recently built a new carpark which had reduced the number of parents double parking or doing u-turn in driveways.

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman called it "chaos at the school gate".

He would like to see clear zones around the school gate for 50m to make the area safer for children.

He also urged parents to walk their children to school and couldn't understand why some people drove 300m from their home to the school when they could walk.

"My biggest concern is particularly a littley who can't see over the bonnet of a parked car, and goes to cross the road particularly if mum or dad is parked on the other side .

"Of course the potential there for a fatality is pretty high that's for sure," Mr Tooman said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Police investigating unexplained death after discovery of man’s body in Northland

09 May 06:18 AM
Politics

'Shame on you Brooke': Hundreds brave downpours to protest Govt’s pay equity changes

09 May 06:16 AM
New Zealand

MetService Severe Weather Update - Friday 9 May

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Watch: Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, surface flooding

Watch: Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, surface flooding

09 May 06:23 AM

Motorists are being warned to expect hazardous driving conditions.

Probe into unexplained death after discovery of man’s body in Northland

Probe into unexplained death after discovery of man’s body in Northland

09 May 06:18 AM
'Shame on you Brooke': Hundreds brave downpours to protest Govt’s pay equity changes

'Shame on you Brooke': Hundreds brave downpours to protest Govt’s pay equity changes

09 May 06:16 AM
MetService Severe Weather Update - Friday 9 May

MetService Severe Weather Update - Friday 9 May

Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP