‘Delay means danger’ Dismay as school car ban postponed
APILOT ban of motorists driving up to three primary school gates in Gloucestershire during peak hours has been delayed until after the October half-term.
The temporary move, which was approved by Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet in July, was supposed to cover the streets immediately outside Kingsholm Primary in Gloucester, Warden Hill Primary in Cheltenham, and Tewkesbury Primary in Tewkesbury from the start of term.
But the trial has now been pushed back to November when pupils return to school after the October half-term.
The authority said schools told it that the safe, full return of pupils following the Covid-19 pandemic was “their clear priority” and chose to delay the launch of the School Streets scheme.
The trial will see roads in the immediate vicinity of the schools closed for 30 to 60 minutes during the morning and afternoon school run, with fines handed out to those who break the rules.
According to a Cheltenham Borough Council document, the schools “had not previously been consulted or invited to take part” in the scheme, adding that a “lack of data relating to existing travel choices” was another reason the project was stalled.
A spokesman for Gloucestershire County Council said there was “absolutely no issue” the authority did not contact Cheltenham’s Warden Hill Primary School as it was in consultation with them before lockdown, and it was already putting an informal street closure in place one day a week.
The measure, otherwise known as School Streets, is designed to improve air pollution in neighbourhoods, encourage walking and cycling and it will also give more space for parents and children to socially distance.
The decision to approve a budget of £100,000 to support traffic regulation orders, signage, lines, equipment and monitoring for the scheme was made by the authority’s Conservative administration on July 22 at the start of the school holidays, and was proposed by opposition Liberal Democrat councillor Iain Dobie.
Mr Dobie, who also turned cars away from driving up to Warden Hill Primary School for a month as part of an unofficial School Streets scheme, said the delay was “deeply disappointing”.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Instead of a single scheme the cabinet decided for some reason to pilot school streets not only in Cheltenham but also in Gloucester and Tewkesbury. This was a surprise not only to me but also to the Gloucester and Tewkesbury schools and also to local councillors.
“Now it seems the complications of multiple pilot schemes are leading to delay in introducing any of them until the end of the October half-term holiday, at least.
“As I have told the relevant cabinet member it is deeply disappointing that the promised introduction of Warden Hill’s School Street has been delayed in this way. We need to encourage safe walking and cycling to school at this time, and also to discourage parents from driving their children up to the school gates. Delay means danger for our schoolchildren.”
A Gloucestershire County Council spokesman said: “We listened to feedback from the schools and their clear priority at the start of this term was to focus on the safe return of pupils, so we agreed to postpone the launch of the School Streets trial until after the October half-term.
“We will be putting experimental traffic orders in place which means that all parties, including schools, can provide comments and feedback while the trial is ongoing so they will be fully engaged throughout.
“We have been meeting with the schools and will continue to work closely with them on this exciting project, which we hope will reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and encourage active travel.”
Once the scheme comes into effect, the Cheltenham Borough Council document said, schools and parents would be encouraged to change how children travel, rather than just dropping off where the road closes.