Source: City of Plymouth
Two more Plymouth schools will be making their ‘Safer School Streets’ schemes permanent after the summer holiday, following successful 18-month trials.
The schemes see roads closed to school-run and through traffic during morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up times, improving safety for everyone, making it easier for families to walk, cycle or scoot to school and creating a healthier street environment with cleaner air.
Stuart Road Primary Academy was the first to run an extended trial of the restrictions before making them permanent last year. It will now be joined by Compton CofE Primary and St Paul’s RC Primary, where the measures have made a significant change to the way families travel to school.
At Compton, surveys and counts carried out by Sustrans and the Council’s road safety team showed the number of children being driven to school fell by 34 per cent after the scheme was put in place and there was a 60 per cent increase in children using the Pearn Road crossing. St Paul’s reported a “huge drop in parked vehicles in Barne Lane”.
Councillor John Stephens, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, said: “It’s great to see another two schools making their Safer School Streets schemes permanent. This shows how effective the measures can be in tackling inconsiderate and dangerous parking and making school journeys safer. They also help to reduce congestion and improve air quality around the school gates, as well as encourage active travel.
“We work hard to encourage families to leave the car at home where possible and promote active travel (including schemes such as walk and stride and walking buses). Making sure local roads and footways are safe and accessible is a huge part of this.
Every weekday during term time, roads outside each school are closed with temporary barriers during their morning and afternoon school run times.
- St Paul’s (Barne Lane): 8.15am to 9am and 2.30pm to 3.30pm
- Compton (Pearn Road and Pearn Gardens): 8.15am to 9.15am and 2.45pm to 3.45pm
There will be no changes to these timings.
Families are encouraged to walk, cycle or scoot to school or, if they need to drive to work, to ‘park and stride’ – where they park a five or 10 minute walk from the school and go the rest of the way by foot.
Access is maintained for local residents and businesses, parents and children with disabilities, the emergency services, deliveries and other service vehicles.
The measures have been trialled for 18 months under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order. The permanent Traffic Regulation Order has been advertised in the local press and on street and the school community and local residents are being made aware.
The decision to make the scheme permanent was signed on 25 June and can be viewed on our decisions page.
For more information visit our Safer School Streets page or the School Streets website.