Lib Dems celebrate success of Sutton’s School Streets

Sutton’s teachers, parents and children just love the Lib Dem-inspired School Streets. They think it is ‘fantastic’ and want to see it rolled out to more schools in the Borough.

Cllr Barry Lewis said: "School Streets are brilliant, it is now much safer and healthier for children to walk, scoot and cycle to school. Air quality has improved and traffic congestion has reduced. This is just one way Sutton Lib Dems are making Sutton a safer and healthier place for all".

A Sutton Council report has concluded that the 10 School Streets introduced in November 2021 "have been successful in creating safer spaces for school children and their parents, carers or guardians as they travel to and from school, and to improve air quality in the vicinity of schools."

In the first six months of the schemes, monitoring revealed that:

• Traffic volumes have reduced by over 50% outside the schools, and this change in traffic levels will have created a safer environment;
• Pedestrian numbers have increased by 24% outside the schools, which may be caused by more school children and parents walking to school or parking further away and finishing their journeys by walking;
• Average cycle numbers have increased by 36% following the introduction of school streets;
• Numbers of Light Goods Vehicles have decreased by 40%;
• Air quality (NO2) has improved by 19%;
• Roads surrounding most of the schools have not been significantly impacted.

After three months of the schemes being in place, meetings were held with the schools and the general feedback was that most sites were working well, with pupils and parents happy with the schemes, both from an environmental and safety perspective. It was also generally reported by the schools that since the School Streets were introduced they were receiving fewer complaints from residents about the behaviours of parents outside the schools.

As a result a Phase 2 of three further School Streets and installation of ANPR cameras at one of the Phase 1 schemes was recommended and voted through at Council's E&ST Committee Meeting on 13th October.

The programme objectives align with policies in the Council’s Sustainable Transport Strategy, which are to keep the air clean by promoting alternative travel choices, such as walking, cycling to work, using public transport or using electric vehicles, while improving public health; and to maintain or improve safety for road users, especially for people with disabilities, children, older residents and other vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Local Conservatives have consistently voted and campaigned against the Council’s Sustainable Transport Strategy and, once again, voted against the recommendations to create new School Streets outside three more schools.