More School Streets coming to Kingston

Kingston Council has given the green light to new School Streets for St John’s School in Portland Road, Kingston Town and Christ Church School in Pine Gardens, Surbiton subject to an enhanced Equality Impact Assessment.

School Streets limit motor vehicle access during drop-off and pick-up times, supporting active travel by making it safer for children and their families to walk, cycle and scoot to school.

The new schemes will be introduced using Experimental Traffic Management Orders on a trial basis for a minimum of six months, up to 18 months. Local people will be invited to share their views and feedback on the School Streets once the trials are in place.

The schemes will be introduced shortly after children return to school after the summer holidays this year, and will be in operation on weekdays for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon during school term time.

Residents and businesses who live or work on the School Streets will be contacted in the Summer with details on how to register their vehicles for exemptions. Prominent signage will be in place on all approaches and the School Streets will be enforced by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. Any vehicle without an exemption that enters the road during the timed restrictions will receive a Penalty Charge Notice.

The council will carefully measure the impact of the trials on the local areas, collating local people’s feedback alongside traffic and air quality data. Kingston is one of the first London Boroughs to join ‘Breathe London’ which provides access to a network of cutting-edge air quality sensors around schools. These sensors gather a range of important data including transport modes, movement patterns and pollution levels.

Cllr Stephanie Archer, Kingston Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainable Transport said:

We are delighted to be introducing two more School Streets in the borough, helping to create safer and healthier environments for children and their families on their journeys to and from St John’s and Christ Church Primary Schools.

 

St John’s has an exemplary Gold Travel plan and Christ Church has been working hard to promote sustainable travel options and its Bikeability training to pupils, however, both schools are experiencing ongoing issues with through-traffic that is sadly out of their hands.

 

From September, most vehicles will no longer be allowed outside the schools during drop-off and pick-up times, maximising space for families to walk, cycle and scoot safely. This will also help dramatically reduce vehicle idling outside the school entrances, helping improve air quality in the area.

 

Our School Streets are one part of our wider commitment to tackling the climate emergency, improving air quality and enabling our residents and visitors to use sustainable travel options.

There are five School Streets currently in operation across the borough:

Kingston Town

• St Paul’s Primary School  - trial
• Latchmere and St Agatha’s Primary Schools - trial
• Alexandra Primary School - trial

Chessington

• Lovelace Primary School - permanent
• Castle Hill Primary School - trial

Alongside School Streets, the council continues to invest in cycle training, as well as its cycling infrastructure network, and is introducing more electric vehicle charging points to make it easier for those who need to drive to make the switch to electric vehicles.

For more information on Kingston’s School Streets please visit: kingstonletstalk.co.uk/school-streets.

To find out more about the council’s sustainable transport initiatives visit: kingston.gov.uk/Sustainabletransport.