A residential street in Droylsden has been described as a “great area to live” — that is until the school run hits.
Every afternoon, Fairfield Road turns into a warzone.
With two schools nearby, life on the street descends into chaos once the clock strikes 3pm.
The “horrendous” scenes have led to damaged cars, arguments in the road and even a lollipop lady suffering abuse.
One neighbour recently had his garden wall destroyed after a car ploughed into it.
Another has had her wing mirror knocked off multiple times due to gridlocked traffic.
Some residents find the congestion even controls their day, often staying inside past 2pm in a bid to avoid the mayhem.
"People have crashed into my car a few times,” neighbour Eugene O'Callaghan, 40, told the Manchester Evening News.
"Everyone argues. There are drivers shouting at other drivers.
"It's a great area to live, but the traffic is horrendous.
"We're on a bend and the speed camera is redundant. I spoke to the council but they won't do anything about it.”
Another resident, who did not wish to give her name, says she has witnessed frustrated parents fighting in the street.
She said: "It's terrible, actually. People have their wing mirrors knocked off.
"I've seen fighting before. My husband and I make sure we don’t drive when they're coming out of school.
"Between 2.30pm and 4pm we don't go out in the car or come back anywhere. It gets really busy; the buses can't get through and you get beeping.”
Becky Prince, 29, moved to Fairfield Road in November 2020.
During that time, she’s had her wing mirror knocked off three times and her dad’s car has been scraped.
He refuses to buy a new one until she moves house in fear of further damage.
“It's not so much the parking, it’s just how busy it gets,” she said.
“There are big double-decker buses that come down here and it’s a narrow road.
"My dad's car has been scraped. He won’t get a new car until we move.
"I've been here before where someone has been constantly beeping for a good 15 to 20 minutes someone wouldn't move and they've got stuck.
"When you’re working from home and you’re meant to speak to people on the phone it’s not what you need."
Lollipop lady gets abused 'twice a week'
Lollipop lady Beth Blaze-Wilde zips up her high-vis jacket as she prepares for another shift.
While she loves her job, she tells us the continual abuse she receives has made her question whether it’s worth it.
She said: "I get abused at least twice a week. A lot of the time I can see them saying stuff in the car.
"Every so often you get the ones that wind the window down and hurl abuse out.
"I love my job for the children and for the parents that are friendly.
"I'm just helping children cross the road.”
Beth says buses regularly become stuck due to badly parked cars.
"It's horrendous,” she continued.
"I had a double decker bus on the other side of the road that got stuck because of cars just coming and not looking.
"Everything was blocked.
"A bus got stuck on the bend because of the cars parked there.
"The road is busy all day during school times. It's horrendous. From 3pm it can be busy for 40 minutes because of how backed up it is.
"Most of the time it's busy with traffic jams being blocked off and the crossing gets blocked so I have drivers shouting at me.
"I need the crossing clear for the children. When it's abuse on the daily, I go to myself, "What's the point?'
"But I love the children."
A man in his 40s, who refused to give his name, points to a pile of rubble in his front garden.
The heap of bricks used to be a wall. Pieces of broken car parts can be seen among the debris.
“A car hit my car and went straight into my wall two months ago,” he says.
"It's going to cost about a grand to fix.
“It's terrible, there are no other words for it. There's nowhere to park. They take no care.
"I enjoy it, actually. I sit and watch the parents sit still for 20 minutes. They don't care about anyone else.
"They say it's their right to be here and they want to fight. They all want a fist fight.
"At the end of the day, kids should walk to school.
"We all have our own wars when it comes to parking. It's down to the school.
"It's impossible to park outside your own house. No one will ever understand it because unless you have a school by your house, they won't understand it."
Dean Booth, 48, says speeding is the biggest issue on the street.
He said: “It does get bad and the traffic is really bad and they’re needs to be measure in place.
"There is an issue with the school.
"I have seen how busy it gets. The issue would be more the speeding."
Joanne Fraser, 48, added: "It's busy at school times but then it doesn’t last long. There are no issues with the kids or parents and I've lived near a school before and we had the same thing there. It's just part of the way it is.
"I think the only issue would be for buses as it’s not a wide road anyway."
A Tameside Council spokesperson said: “Temporary roadworks to install utilities at a nearby housing development may have contributed to traffic flow issues, though we have not been made aware of them causing significant problems.
“Traffic around the borough has returned to that of pre-covid levels. Similar to most areas around schools, child drop off and pick up times are some of the most congested in the working day.
“The Council works hard with schools throughout the year to minimise the impact of traffic at these times. The safety of the children is paramount and the Council asks those drivers to be patient or to use an alternative time or route if possible.”
Fairfield Road Primary School and Fairfield High School for Girls did not respond when approached by the M.E.N.
