A Manchester primary is pleading for new safety measures to be installed on a "nightmare" school run.
Staff at Saviour Church of England Primary School in Collyhurst fear it is "a matter of time" before a child is hit by a car on the "dangerous" road.
Parents park on zig-zag lines and kerbs to drop off and pick-up their children, forcing buggies into the busy road.
READ MORE: Mum forced into extra school run as daughter stopped from riding in same taxi as son
Lollipop signs warning 'don't park here' have even been stolen in Eggington Street, it is claimed.
Headteacher Eileen Anderson is calling for traffic-calming measures like speedbumps, speed cameras and a pedestrian crossing.
Ms Anderson told the M.E.N: "There is no traffic management and no zebra crossings or even a pelican crossing or anything like that.
"The council have come a couple of times to monitor cars, but when they do, people tend to drive on and not stop as much.
"I go out there [on Eggington Street] in the m ornings and at the end of the school day, because I am having to ask parents not to park on the zig-zag lines.
" But the problem is, because it’s so busy, when people want to drop children off, the zig-zag lines are where the only space is.
"So, parents will pull in and then say, “well, I can’t go anywhere else.” Or they will do three-point turns.
"We need our parents to be aware of road safety, as well as all the drivers that cut through Eggington Street for work."
Hundreds of motorists use Eggington Street - also home to St Malachy's R.C. Primary School - as a rat-run around north Manchester towards the city centre.
With rows of cars parked along the pavement, parents are forced to reverse and carry out three-point turns.
And Saviour Primary School staff fear the local authority will only step in if a child is involved in an accident.
"My biggest worry is that I don’t want it to be a child to get hurt before something is done about the road," continued Mrs Anderson.
“St Malachy's school is also pushing for the same thing because obviously, it will be one of our families if anything happens.
"I do appreciate that there is probably difficulty with staffing at the council, but something needs to be done."
Louise Dutton, business manager at Saviour Primary School, is calling for extended zig-zag lines and fines for reckless parking.
She explained: "It’s just a nightmare. You’ve got cars parking on the pavement while children are walking there.
"It's only a matter of time before someone reverses into a child.
"The cars that speed through from one road to another that are not connected to the school are also a huge issue.
"If you edge out of Eggington Street, all of a sudden, the cars zoom past because they know there aren't many speed restrictions being monitored.
“There have been so many near-misses. It’s a matter of time before there is a serious incident or accident and it’s very likely to be a child."
Road safety is taught to pupils as part of Road Safety Week 2021.
"We teach our children to wear brightly-coloured coats, if possible," added headteacher Ms Anderson.
"Just to make them aware that drivers might not see a child with a dark coat on.
"We try to tell people not to park on the pavement so that they will understand and work with us."
The school has reported their concerns to Manchester City Council, but no action has been taken.
Saviour Primary School has three entrances for parents to drop off and collect children every morning and afternoon.
The school regularly sends out texts and letters to parents, reminding them not to park on the pavement and to be careful of children walking nearby.
“We have done all we can," said Mrs Dutton.
"We have diluted it to three entrances. We ask our parents to be conscious and careful if they are coming to school in a car.
"We did look at staggering times for pickups and drop-offs, but it would m ean an earlier start for staff.
"And if you’ve got families who have children in three different year-groups, they don’t want to come to school at different times during the day.
"We can’t understand why when two schools are raising a serious concern and we’re going through the right procedures, we're getting an automated response from the Council and nothing more."
Parents also shared their concerns about the road with the M.E.N.
Some suggested converting the basketball court in Eggington Street into a car park for both schools.
The court is owned by the local authority.
One dad said: " Sometimes, it’s just standstill traffic. Cars can’t come past.
" Even if you're running that little bit late in the morning, cars are all parked up.
"When you turn up to pick your kids up, you do get cars coming quite fast.
"I used to come to this primary school when I was a kid and they don’t make use o f the basketball court. That could be turned into something for parking only."
One mum said: " It is bad when you’re trying to come up here and cars are trying to get out.
" Traffic wardens are usually here when it’s busy, but you don’t see them. Every now and then, you see them.
"You'll see how bad it is at school hours. You get cars all blasting their horns and rowing.
"You get cars doing three-point turns on the pavement.
"They have those lollipop signs saying 'don’t park here'. But drivers don’t listen.
"Half the time, you’ve got one idiot down the road in a big minibus while I’m trying to walk around this van.
"They shouldn’t really be allowed to park on pavements when you’ve got your kids with you.
"But I think they do it because there's no space to get through."
Another mum added: "Normally, this road is just hammered.
"It feels like everyone is in a rush, when everyone is trying to get out at the same time.
"It would be better if the road was one-way. So, no-one will reverse out."
In a statement, Manchester City Council said: "The council works with schools to provide a safe environment for children and parents to travel to and from school.
"This can include features such as improved road markings, safety rails and warning signs."
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