School Streets
School Streets schemes aim to transform roads outside schools, so that pedestrians and cyclists can use them safely at school start and finish times. Removing most vehicles outside the school gates makes the space safer, less polluted and more pleasant for everyone.
"Transforming roads outside schools"
If you have any queries about School Streets, please email the ThinkTravel team on thinktravel@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
Click below for our blog with news from Thinktravel and Gloucestershire's Schools Streets:
School Streets
Some describe School Streets as a ‘Revolution at the School Gate’, aimed at bringing communities together to make streets around schools safer and healthier. Here in Gloucestershire, we launched our own trial in autumn 2020 to encourage walking and cycling to school using an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order.
School travel accounts for approximately 20% of vehicle trips on Gloucestershire’s road network during peak times of the day and is a significant contributing factor to congestion and parking pressures outside of school gates.
At the July 2020 cabinet meeting, councillors agreed to a trial involving closing the streets outside schools during drop-off and pick-up times using the Climate Change and Air Quality Fund. and GCC have since allocated further funding to resource and extend trials across the county.
Who is involved?
In the first phase, the Thinktravel team continues to work with:
This is part of a trial to create our very first School Streets in Gloucestershire! We are also planning to develop more trials in regions across the county in 2022, working with the following schools:
Lasting benefits
Removing vehicles makes for safer, less polluted and more pleasant spaces, making it easier and safer for children to walk and cycle to school.
The schemes create a more pleasant environment for everyone, whilst making sure that residents, businesses, pedestrians and cyclists can still use the street.
The trial aims to:
- Reduce volume of traffic using roads past school gates, both school-run and through traffic;
- Improve air quality in and around school gates;
- Increase number of pupils walking and cycling to school; and
- Reduce the number of pupils arriving at school by car
- The scheme has also helped promote social distancing during the Covid pandemic.
How School Streets works
The streets around a school will temporarily become ‘pedestrian, scooter and cycle zones’ only at set times in the morning and afternoon. Vehicles are not permitted to enter the street between these times unless they have been granted an exemption.
To find out more visit the SchoolStreets.org.uk web pages using the link below
Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) are put in place so that anyone can provide comments and feedback while the trial is ongoing.
More information about the ETROs
The ETRO is used to monitor success so all representations will be duly considered when the decision making process in conducted which could result in some amendments being made.
Frequently asked questions
Links to other resources
Education Links Blog
Modeshift For Schools
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