Medway Council set to expand School Streets ‘traffic-free’ zones scheme to further nine schools following consultation

A controversial scheme which sees traffic-free zones set up around schools banning cars during certain times of the day has been recommended for expansion.

Medway Council is to consider the next steps towards implementing its ‘School Streets’ programme outside a further nine schools following consultation.

In a report set to be discussed by councillors, officers have recommended that six of the original designs be progressed.

Meanwhile, the other proposed three will undergo some alterations following feedback during the consultation which began in September.

The programme aims to make it safer for children and their guardians to get to and from school by reducing the amount of traffic passing on the roads.

This is achieved by banning cars on specific roads around schools during the opening and closing hours of the school day - and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras fine motorists who ignore the prohibition.

Seven schools were included in the original tranche, and a further nine schools were trialled. The nine schools are:

- Crest Infant & Nursery School, Delce Academy, St William of Perth Catholic Primary School, and The King’s Pre & Preparatory in Rochester and Hilltop Primary School in Frindsbury.

- Cliffe Woods Primary School and Leigh Academy High Halstow Primary Academy on the Hoo Peninsula.

- St Margaret’s Infant School, St Margaret’s Church of England Junior School, and Fairview Community Primary in Rainham, and Horsted Primary in Chatham.

If approved the original designs at St William of Perth Catholic Primary School, Rochester; Cliffe Woods Primary School, Cliffe Woods Pre-School and the City of Rochester School, Cliffe Woods; Hilltop Primary School, Frindsbury; High Halstow Primary Academy, High Halstow; and Fairview Primary School, St Margaret’s Church of England Junior School and St Margaret’s Infant School, Rainham will progress.

However, the designs for Crest Infants School/Delce Academy and The King’s Pre-Preparatory School and Nursery, Rochester, and Horsted Primary School, Chatham, are to be amended.

For Crest Infants School/Delce Academy, the school streets are to be expanded to include The Tideway, from Hawser Road to Barnaby Terrace, and to include Windward Rd and Leedward Road, down to The Fairway.

For Horsted Primary School, the school street zone is to be extended along Binland Grove, Barberry Avenue to Watson Avenue following suggestions from the school the original design would not deal with the problem.

And the King’s Pre-Preparatory School and Nursery school streets will see Roebuck Road between Watts Avenue and St Margaret’s St added due to concerns over displaced traffic.

The consultation received 1231 responses, the majority of which agreed there was an issue with congestion around their nearby schools.

However, there was a divide between groups over whether school streets were the answer.

Residents who lived within the area of one of the proposed school streets tended to strongly support their introduction, but parents of students and locals not living within those areas strongly opposed them.

Responding to concerns, the council said it would make clear where the zones would be in effect through bold signage, in order to help drivers avoid them, and raise awareness of who would be exempt from the scheme.

The original seven school streets came into full effect following the end of a six-month warning period last month, and in their first month more than 3,000 drivers were fined for breaking the rules.

The fines are £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

It means the council was eligible to complain anywhere between £99,225 and £198,450, which it says will reinvested into the road network.

Medway Council’s portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement , Cllr Alex Paterson (Lab) said he made no apologies for fining drivers who break the rules and endanger children’s lives.

He has also said school streets have been effective in making journeys to school safer.

However, leader of the Medway Conservatives, Cllr George Perfect, disagreed, saying the council needed to do more with residents to inform them about the scheme.

He believes schools streets should only be implemented in areas where residents have the support of schools and locals.

Cllr Perfect added: “I think the problem is in parts of London and other places around the UK, these have been implemented where there are significant levels of traffic measures.

“We don’t have those type of traffic enforcement measures within Medway and we haven’t had them in the past.”

The proposals for the expanded scheme will be considered by councillors at the next cabinet meeting on November 19.

If given the go ahead, they will progress to a formal consultation before being implemented.