What is a School Street?

A School Street is a scheme where the road(s) outside a school is closed to most vehicles during school opening and closing times, helping children walk or cycle to school safely. Shoreditch Park Primary School will be getting a School Street in September as part of our effort to rebuild a greener Hackney post-lockdown. This will help promote cleaner air, reduce congestion and increase levels of active travel, creating a more pleasant environment for local communities.

The School Street will also help to provide immediate protection against road danger and difficulties with social distancing around school opening and closing times, addressing the dangers of vulnerable road users being forced out into the carriageway to avoid crowding around school gates.

How will the scheme work and what are the operating times?

Bridport Place and Grange Street, from the cul-de-sac end of Grange Street to the junction with Penn Street, and Gopsall Street and Northport Street, from the junction with Penn Street, will be made a Pedestrian and Cycle Zone for one hour in the morning and afternoon, from 8:30-9:30am and 3:00-4:00pm. The scheme will not operate on weekends or during school holidays. Pedestrian and Cycle Zone signage will be installed at all entrances into the zone, informing drivers of the restrictions (see map below).

Vehicles will be banned from entering the street between these times unless they have been granted an exemption. Access for residents will be maintained for vehicles
registered for an exemption. This will enable residents who live within the zone to still get to and from their homes by motor vehicle.

Public notices advising the changes will be displayed in the streets prior to implementation.

How will the scheme be enforced?

The School Streets zone will be indicated by Pedestrian and Cycle Zone signs at each entry point (see map below). It is a traffic offence for non-exempt vehicles to enter the
School Streets zone during the operational times, and infractions can carry a penalty charge issued by an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera. School
Streets will be spot enforced across the borough and the enforcement regime will be monitored and reviewed. 

Additionally, some sites may incorporate barriers, marshalled by school staff and volunteers, to remind drivers that the School Street is a Pedestrian and Cycle Zone that prioritises the safety of children.

Penalty Charge Notices will not be issued for one month after the School Street is introduced.

How long will the scheme last?

This School Streets scheme is being introduced using an experimental traffic order for a maximum period of 18 months. The trial scheme will be reviewed 9 months after it
has been implemented and, if it is deemed successful, can be made permanent by the introduction of a permanent Traffic Management Order (TMO).

Which vehicles are exempt from the scheme?

Vehicles that are registered to a residential or business address within a School Streets zone are eligible for exemption from that School Street zone, and will automatically be exempted. Special exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This includes Blue Badge holders and carers who need vehicle access to aproperty inside the School Streets zone, including the school.

Vehicles driven by residents living outside of a School Streets zone, parents/carers dropping off/collecting children at the school, school staff, friends, tradespeople, delivery vehicles, and any other non-exempt vehicle will not be permitted to enter the street during the School Streets operational times.

What about deliveries, or if school staff need to access the staff car park?

If school staff need to access the school’s car park, they must arrive before or after the School Streets operational times (8:30-9:30am and 3:00-4:00pm). This also applies to delivery vehicles, which should be retimed if necessary.

What if I’m already parked inside the School Streets zone when it comes into operation?

All vehicles already parked in a School Street zone before the times of operation will be able to leave.

Have local residents and businesses been informed of the restrictions?

The Council has written to local residents and businesses within the School Streets
immediate area to inform them of the upcoming restrictions.

What happens next?

The School Streets scheme will become operational from Monday 7 September 2020.