The London Borough of Redbridge (LBR) is consulting on 7 new school street schemes, including 2 which did not progress following earlier consultations. One of these is a redesigned scheme.
The schools are:
- Barley Lane Primary School
- Christchurch Primary School
- Cleveland Road Primary School
- Farnham Green Primary School Extension
- Gilbert Colvin Primary School
- Newbury Park Primary School
- Uphall Primary School
LBR see these schemes as critical to making the roads around schools safer and encouraging walking and cycling. We agree. The proposals and surveys are here.
https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/roads-and-pavements/redbridge-school-streets/
The closing dates for all the consultations is 3rd December 2023.
Please respond – at the end of the days its first past the post so every response counts.
LBR is also holding a series of ‘pop-up sessions’ where you can meet with Officers and ask any questions about the proposed School Streets. Here are the details:
What is a school street?
On their website the School Streets charity describes it as follows:
‘A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic. The result is a safer, healthier and pleasant environment for everyone.
School Street schemes offer a proactive solution for school communities to tackle air pollution, poor health and road danger reduction. A School Street scheme will encourage a healthier lifestyle and active travel to school for families and lead to a better environment for everyone.’
LBR make a good case for school streets. The only thing we would add is that a school street makes it easier for parents and carers can meet each other at the school gate, those whose children are in the same class or year can become friends and acquaintances and this helps to create community. If everyone is squashed onto a narrow pavement and if the street is clogged with cars this is difficult.
We at RCC will provide a standard response supporting each of the schemes but we just do not have the capacity to respond to each one in detail individually. So, we might have missed that a proposed camera is in the wrong place. So if you live near one the schools, have local knowledge and have the time, please respond individually.
Our responses
In answer to Q8: Do you have any concerns over road safety, congestion, parking, or air quality in the area around the school during school pick up and drop off times? we replied Yes.
In answer to Q9: Please tell us more about your concerns, we have replied:
‘The congestion and parking problems around schools caused by what is a minority of parents who picking up and dropping off their children by car, creates an unnecessarily uncomfortable and unpleasant environment for everyone and in particular dissuades those who want to cycle from doing so.’
In answer to Q17 What improvements can you suggest to the proposals made? We have replied:
‘School Street schemes are by their nature restricted in their scope. To really encourage parents and carers to choose to take their children to school by bike the Authority needs to create a series of radial quiet routes that lead to the school from points on the boundary of its catchment area.
Redbridge Cycling Campaign 
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