There have been continued long delays and traffic jams around schools in St George and Sutherland Shire the past week as parents heed the state government's call to drive their children to and from school.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian asked children to stay off public transport where possible, unless a designated service was available, as part of the state government's plan to continue social distancing on public transport.
While school students would be given 'priority access' to public transport, Mr Constance said parents should drive their children to and from school if there was no specialised school bus.
"Ideally, we would like parents to obviously drop their kids off to school through cars," he said.
There was a noticeable increase in cars on the roads around schools in the mornings last week, but staggered drop-off times helped avoid too many problems. But by the afternoons, streets were packed with vehicles and many roads were at a standstill.
While some schools have brought in systems for drop-off and pick-up involving traffic wardens and children being escorted to waiting cars, some readers have described chaotic scenes.
Leader reader Rebecca Atkinson said Hurstville was "a car park at pick-up time", with all major roads clogged, while Tracey Millman and Aud Bee said Greenlands Avenue and Bailey Parade at Peakhurst were very congested, with some parents standing in the middle of the road, blocking traffic.
Peter Rehberg said it took 45 minutes to travel from Kogarah to Beverly Hills.
St Patrick's at Sutherland is one shire hotspot. While it has traffic wardens and what has been descrbed as a "very efficient" system for rotating waiting traffic, some readers have detailed long delays.
Kristy Little said cars waiting to pick up students from St Patrick's blocked nearby roads and a roundabout in the afternoons.
"They have a cul-de-sac [where they] line up and they call the kids one by one. It takes about 30 minutes," she said.
Bernadette Hayes said residents could not enter Koorabel Avenue near St Catherine Laboure at Gymea, for more than an hour because parents had blocked the road.
"Parents blocked the pedestrian crossing. They also blocked President Avenue in both directions," she said.
Kevin Catt said traffic stretched from De La Salle Catholic College and Our Lady of Fatima primary school at Caringbah all the way down to the roundabout on Burraneer Bay Road.
Trevor Trounson said traffic around Heathcote Public School had been "horrendous", with cars blocking Veno and Rosebery streets at times.
Traffic around Menai High School was also heavy, according to a reader.
Jen Lenke said traffic between Cronulla and Caringbah along Burraneer Bay and Port Hacking roads had been "crazy".
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