STRONG — Sheila Fay believes no child’s life should be endangered because drivers want the convenience of parking their vehicles in front of the Strong Elementary School.

The local woman told selectmen Tuesday night that the congested parking on both sides of Main Street in front of the school was “an accident waiting to happen.” She said all vehicles, including large logging trucks, must drive down the center of the street each weekday afternoon, because cars have taken much of the travel lanes.

She urged selectmen to consider the safety of all of the children in town, even if other adults would not.

“Evidently, a lot of parents don’t have the mentality to realize it could be their children lying in the street,” Fay said.

She said she’d had several close calls with oncoming cars on Main Street, because they crossed into her lane to squeeze past the parked cars. Another problem, she said, is that when schoolchildren leave the building in the afternoon, few cars slow to the 15-mph limit, and many do not stop for them in the crosswalk.

 “I want to know what’s going to be done to stop these cars from parking in a ‘no parking’ zone in front of that school,” she said. “Who is responsible for keeping people from doing that? I don’t want to be the one responsible for killing someone’s child. You’re going to have a head-on collision, or someone’s little child is going to be squished in the road.”

Fay said she had spoken with Maine State Police Trooper Aaron Turcotte, who supported her idea to photograph license plates of illegally parked vehicles.

Selectman Clyde Barker suggested repositioning the no parking signs to clarify which areas are in the restricted zone.

Selectman Mary White said the town erected the signs and the school paid for them one year ago.

Principal Felecia Pease also sent a notice to all parents at the beginning of the year, telling them that parking on Main Street was no longer allowed.

Selectmen recently learned that, since an ordinance had not been adopted, they could not enforce the ban on parking.

“In a good-faith effort, we put those signs there, and no one’s paid attention to them,” board Chairman Milt Baston said. “We will do something, but we have steps we have to take, including getting an ordinance approved.”

Selectmen scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 30, to approve an ordinance to prohibit parking in front of the school. Parents must park behind the school or find another safe and legal place to wait for children. Selectmen will ask state troopers and county deputies to begin issuing warnings and tickets to offenders.