Is Nuneaton about to get its first School Street?
Just a quick thing...
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Following the successful pilot of a scheme at Eastlands Primary School in Rugby, and in exciting news for those who want to see improved safety, better air quality, and more pleasant environments outside of school gates, Warwickshire County Council has revealed that it is planning a new School Streets trial, with Chetwynd Junior School and Caroline Close in Nuneaton set to benefit.
In an effort to improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of children in particular travelling to and from school, School Streets schemes impose restrictions on motor vehicles for about an hour around the start and end of the school day. This means more space to walk, wheel, and cycle; more physical activity and improved educational performance as a result; reduced pollution; and far less congestion outside of school, improving physical safety. To achieve this, people are asked to leave the car behind for school travel; for those who logistically cannot do so, they will need to park away from the school site and walk the remaining distance.
To support the measure, Chetwynd Junior School has already reached agreements with the operators of two local car parks to create a Park and Stride scheme – Paul’s Land off Mill Close and Chetwynd Arms. The latter is roughly a 14 minute walk through urban streets; the former is a more pleasant stroll through some green space and is maybe a minute or two shorter. Using these car parks helps to reduce parking congestion on local streets. As things develop, a “Bicycle Bus” initiative is also a possibility which could support those who want to cycle to school but prefer the safety of a supervised group.
I have long been a supporter of School Streets which have been rolled out across the country by various local authorities, and have been calling on Warwickshire County Council to start trialling them in Nuneaton and Bedworth for a number of years. I am therefore delighted at this development! Chetwynd is an obvious choice for a scheme in Nuneaton – it’s at the bottom of a close with no through routes to be affected; it has suffered from terrible congestion, bad and dangerous parking, and otherwise poor driver behaviours from some; and with expansion on the cards to accommodate demand from new housing, it’s a situation that will get worse if not immediately addressed.
A School Streets scheme is, of course, only one part of improving the environment for active travel, albeit an important one which I very much welcome. Beyond this, safer routes are also very important – people are less likely to allow their children to walk, wheel, or cycle if there is a perceived lack of safety mid-journey, especially if considering allowing independent travel. The nearest main road, Gipsy Lane, is traffic calmed with speed cushions and might not be particularly fast, but it is still a 30mph limit, does get very busy, and is likely to get busier still with the new housing; the connection to the Paul’s Land green space along Magyar Crescent can get very congested; the links across and along busier main roads (Lutterworth Road and Bulkington Lane) are poor. Key routes need good quality pavements and separated cycle infrastructure which will allow people the confidence to say that active travel is a good, easy, and safe choice for getting to and from school.
The planning for Chetwynd’s School Streets scheme is still in its preliminary stages and remains subject to approval from the Portfolio Holder for Transport. An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) will legally formalise the change to the road, where this will be in place for eighteen months and evaluated before a decision is made on whether or not it will become permanent. Evaluation will likely include not only the impact on Caroline Close and compliance with the restrictions but monitoring the level of any impact on other local roads.
On the assumption that Caroline Close will work on a similar basis as the Rugby scheme, signed restrictions at the top of Caroline Close will create a “Pedestrian and Cycle Zone”, prohibiting access to motor vehicles for an hour at both the start and end of the school day (Eastlands Primary School uses 8:15-9:15am and 2:30-3:30pm, but this will likely be tailored to the school), with exceptions made for emergency vehicles, blue badge holders, and permit holders for those who live on Caroline Close. In the event of a driver contravening the restriction where they are not covered by an exception, this would leave them potentially liable to receive a fixed penalty notice resulting in a fine of £100 and three points on their licence.
My hope is to see this implemented for the beginning of the new school year in September 2025, but it all hinges on that political approval from the new Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning. If this trial is successful, I would like to see other schemes rolled out to more schools as a means of tackling the all-to-common traffic issues for which I’d venture many people – at least, of those who are not driving up to the gates – are fed-up.
More information will follow as details are revealed, so keep eyes on this website and/or social media for updates, in addition to Warwickshire County Council’s channels.
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