Cannon Road School Streets – Goes Live 27th Feb – Update from Richard Eason, LBE
SCHOOL STREETS SCHEME – CANNON ROAD – GOES LIVE 27th FEB
Enfield Council announced that it intends to make Cannon Road a School Street (SS1) whereby all motor vehicles , except permit holders, would be prohibited from entering or leaving the Pedestrian and Cycle Zone during the following hours:
- Monday to Friday from 8.15 to 9.15 am and 2.30 – 4.00pm
- Permits (allowing vehicles to enter or leave the area during these times) will be available for those living at addresses in Canon Road and for school staff and others such as emergency vehicles
This scheme goes live on 27th Feb, after half term break. It operates using ANPR (Automated Number Plate Recognition) technology.
Richard Eason writes
School Streets
School streets form an exciting part of the wider Healthy Streets programme, offering great potential to improve the environment for young people around the school gate.
A ‘School Street’ is when the roads immediately surrounding a school are closed to motor traffic. They operate Monday to Friday in term time, during set times at drop-off and pick-up. The roads are closed to vehicles for a period in the morning and the afternoon but remain open to pedestrians, cyclists and, depending on how the scheme is implemented, those who are exempt from the closure.
The objectives of a school street for our children are simple:
Reduce traffic, reduce danger, increase happiness
- Reduce the anxiety caused by the stress of inconsiderate parking and traffic near the school gate
- Encourage active travel in our children and parents
- Improve the air quality in and around schools where our children are vulnerable
The council engaged with all primary school heads on the return from the summer holidays. We opened up expressions of interest to junior and academy schools in the borough, from 9th September to 6th October.
Oakthorpe Primary school and St Monica’s Catholic Primary school were selected in July as pilot locations and the plan is for both of these school streets to start week commencing 24th Feb 2020. At these schools we have implemented a detailed engagement plan delivered by our partner, Sustrans. This was initiated in October and has involved letters to all residents and multiple open evenings held at the schools, where we discussed the schemes. We have also carried out pop up events at pick up and drop off time to talk to parents. Permit exemptions have been offered to all residents with vehicles who live within the school street zone to allow them continued access, including during the timed closures.
Looking forward, we plan to have 5 school streets implemented by end of March 2021, with further schools added each year. We have already received 13 applications from schools during the expression of interest period last year. We are now conducting feasibility studies on all these schools and later in the Spring hope to announce which schools will be included in the next phase.
School Streets are a key priority for the Healthy Streets team and we are committed to help improve air quality at school gates, whilst helping to tackle the obesity crisis our children are facing through inactivity and forming part of the wider Council response to the climate emergency that we are facing as a community.
Richard Eason | Programme Director
Healthy Streets | London Borough of Enfield
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Office: (0)20 8132 0698
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