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My name is Sakinah Raza, and I am a Year 5 student at Bedford Girls’ School. For our Active Inquiry project, we had to identify a problem in our local community and take action to improve it. I chose to look at the parking in my local area of Kempston.

First, I looked closely at my street. I studied a survey carried out by another concerned resident which took into account the number of houses on my street, how many of the residents own a vehicle and how many have off road parking available. The results showed that we have a surplus of parking space available. So, why is there still a noticeable shortage?

I realised that the main reason this is occuring is because some people are “saving spaces.” This means they are parking in between two parking spaces then moving their car when they think it necessary. This is commonly done when other family members visit and need to park their cars. This behaviour is creating a problem and having a negative effect on other members of the community, including vulnerable people and those providing services, as well as those working late shifts. In short, this affects everyone in the area in some way. I also realised that similar problems are occurring on neighbouring streets in the community.

Observing the streets more closely:

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It is becoming more common for households to have more than one car.
At the time these houses were built, the usage of cars as a form of transport was not as common as it is today. Instead more people used public transport.
Over time, more houses have been built which means less parking space.
More recently, some homeowners have converted space around their house to create off road parking, as a result of this dropping the kerb has meant another parking space is eliminated.

To conclude, I have learnt from this project that the solution to this problem isn't to change the amount of parking space, it's to change the attitude of the people using it. We all need to work together to help our communities thrive. It’s our responsibility as individuals to take into account each others’ needs and feelings. So although over time the amount of cars will increase, our communities will still be pleasant for all.

So don't save spaces, and be mindful about where you park.

Thank you for reading.

Sakinah M.Raza (10 years old)

Opinion: The need for mindful parking