School Street: St John the Baptist C of E Primary School
Proposal for a School Street scheme: St John the Baptist C of E Primary School
A School Street is a road outside a school with temporary restriction on motor traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic.
Short sections of school streets are already successfully operated in parts of Leicester.
Leicester City Council have received complaints and concerns about the safety and welfare of pupils, their families and residents on the St John the Baptist school run, for a number of years. The council has invited local residents to complete a public opinion survey to understand how they feel about implementing a school street as a way of resolving these issues. A public meeting is also being planned.
Parents at the school will be invited to complete a similar public opinion survey when they return to school.
If there is positive feedback from the survey and public meetings, they council proposes to commence a trial which could be in place for up to 18 months, from when it launches. During the first six months of a trial period, members of the public will have an opportunity to give feedback and request amendments or the removal of traffic restrictions.
Proposed School Street zone
The proposed School Street would run along North Avenue from the junction with The Avenue, include Dukes Drive and East Avenue, to its’ junction with Clarendon Park Road. See the map below which outlines the proposed area.
This section of road would not be accessible to through traffic, and only exempt vehicles would have access into the closure zone. The closure points will initially be marshalled by City Highways operatives, and then by staff members from the school after the initial period.
Full details of the road closure and exemptions, including how the School Street would operate can be found the FAQs below.
Benefits of a School Street
- Reduced traffic congestion: Closing streets to through traffic has helped alleviate traffic congestion and reduce car travel to schools around Leicester.
- Reduced chaos and noise: Closing streets will mean a more serene school run for residents.
- Fewer dangerous vehicle manoeuvres on residential streets within the School Street zone.
- Increased success of a new Park & Stride scheme: encouraging families who have to drive, to park safely and further away from the school gates.
- Positive impact on wellbeing and relationships between local residents, families and the school.
- Improved air quality in the immediate area around the school: fewer vehicles means new toxic emissions, leading to cleaner air and better respiratory health for children and the local community.
- Increased physical activity: a recent survey of parents of pupils at St John the Baptist showed that 31% of parents that drove their children to school said that they would consider walking or cycling to school if there were fewer cars around the school area. A School Street would make it safer.
Levels of traffic on the streets surrounding the school have been recorded in order to understand and take action if traffic and parking is shifted to other locations due to the implementation of the School Street. If the School Street commences, we will be informing parents about locations where we have been given permission to allow parents to park in local car parks. This will minimise parking on neighbouring residential streets.
What hours will the School Street operate?
We are suggesting that the School Street will operate between the hours of 8.15 – 9.00am and 2.30 – 3.15pm Monday to Friday during term time. This will be confirmed after consultation.
Outside of these hours, access to the street will be unrestricted.
These operating hours will be monitored and if an amendment is required, this will be consulted on separately.
Who will operate the School Street?
In the first two weeks of operation, the closure will be operated and supported by City Highways marshals from Leicester City Council. Whilst it is still experimental (for up to 18 months) St John the Baptist Primary School will be responsible for operating the school street closure.
Will it be camera operated?
Not in the first instance. If the School Street is deemed a success, a camera operated School Street will be consulted on, as an option for its continuation.
How will we know if it is successful?
We will undertake a series of monitoring activities to understand the impact of introducing the School Street. Data will be collected before and after the delivery of the School Street to assess whether there has been an improvement outside the school.
Qualitative feedback will be collected from the school, parents and residents, alongside several observations during the trial period.
Will residents be allowed in the School Street?
Residents will be able to enter and exit the School Street when it is in place. School street permits will be issued to residents and we will not be charging for these. Each household will be responsible for applying for their own permits. If the trial goes ahead, more information will be sent out to residents should the School Street trial plan go ahead. Officers will visit each property to assist the residents in applying for a permit.
Who else will be allowed in the School Street?
Anyone who is already parked within the school street is allowed to drive out.
With all School Street schemes, we acknowledge that there are vehicles that should be exempt from restrictions.
School street exemptions below:
- Emergency services
- Statutory undertakers (organisations making repairs to infrastructure in the highway e.g. gas or water mains repairs)
- Local authority in pursuance of statutory powers, including refuse collection
- Exemptions stated in the Highway Code, such as a medical emergency or with the permission or at the direction of a police officer
- Any vehicle parked within the school street when it comes into operation and subsequently wishing to exit the School Street
An exemption will be issued to:
- Residents who live within the School Street
- Businesses with premises within the School Street
- Blue Badge (disabled) holders that require access to the street during the restricted hours
- School buses and vehicles used in the transport of children or adults with special access requirements
- Medical practitioners and carers attending those with an address within the School Street
Vehicles that would not be exempt include:
- Parents of children at the school
- Visitors to addresses within the school street.
- Deliveries to addresses within the school street
Will the School Street delay the response of emergency services?
Emergency service vehicles will be exempt from these restrictions so that they can access locations within a School Street zone and use roads in the zone to travel to emergencies at other locations.
What if I am expecting a delivery or contractor to my house within the School Street hours?
As the idea is to reduce traffic on the school street, we ask that, if possible, you let your delivery company/contractor know in advance that the school street is operating and ask that they reschedule their delivery to outside of the school street times of operation.
Large delivery companies such as Amazon are acknowledging School Streets and their drivers are rescheduling their route to accommodate.
Whilst we are keeping the timings of the closure as short as possible, we will welcome feedback from you on this if the scheme is trialled.
What is a Park and Stride?
A Park and Stride is an off road car park where parents can park and then walk with their children to school. This allows parents to get their children out of the car in a calm and safe environment. It moves the cars away from the streets immediately around the school. It’s also a way to incorporate physical activity into a journey, especially for those who live too far to walk the entire way.
What will happen to parking on Clarendon Park Road?
Because we don’t want the parking to shift to Clarendon Park Road, we propose to experiment with a single yellow line on the southern side of the road, which will operate the same times as the school street.