Congestion in a street choked by school traffic could be eased with the building of a footpath for children.

Kirklees Council is drawing up a plan to create a path to Scholes First and Nursery School to encourage parents not to park in Old Popplewell Lane.

The move comes after residents - angered by parents parking on pavements in their street - sent a 130-name petition to the authority.

Police have been regularly called to move vehicles and the congestion causes problems for traffic coming to and from Cold Drawn Products metal works at the end of the street.

Councillor Ann Raistrick (Lib Dem, Cleckheaton) said she hoped the footpath plan would get the go-ahead to solve a problem that has dogged the street for more than five years.

She said: "At the beginning and the end of the school day it's terrible down there and residents get frustrated that they can't get in or out.

"It looks like we could have a solution to a problem which has been around for a long time, but it will still rely on the goodwill of parents.

"There's no point in the authority spending thousands of pounds if people aren't prepared to use it."

Under the proposal parents could park in nearby Westfield Lane and youngsters would use the 50-metre path past allotments to the school.

A "drop-and-go" zone is being considered by highways officers for Westfield Lane to avoid simply moving the congestion to another street.

Measures such as waiting restrictions and access-only signs had been turned down as no one had been injured in a road accident in the street during the past five years.

The Council's highways and education departments are currently drawing up the footpath plan and a decision is expected this month.

Peter Salmon, accident investigator for Kirklees Council, said: "The idea is to make parents park further away and provide an easy access to the school.

"We are in talks with the education department to work out the money side but we should have a decision before the next meeting of the Highways and Transport Service Management Board in October."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.