Croydon Council has confirmed that all but one of their 10 new healthy school streets (HSS) will become permanent, banning all non-permitted vehicles entry during the busy school run hours.
From April 2022, the council imposed 10 experimental traffic orders across the borough to tackle air pollution near schools and encourage more parents and pupils to walk to school. The list of schools due to see their HSS made permanent includes St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School and St Joseph’s Catholic Junior School.
The experimental orders established distinct school pedestrian zones, which forbid motorised vehicles entering between 8am and 9am and again between 2pm and 4pm on school days during the academic year.
Exemptions were made for public service and liveried vehicles, as well as those with permits and a valid blue badge.
Anyone without a permit who drives down a school street during the designated times faces a £60 fine.
Residents, parents and schools were given a six-month consultation period, in which feedback and objections to the scheme could be given.
Respondents were required to indicate their support for the zone and its impact both less than 100m and more than 100m outside of it.
Similar schemes have been rolled out across the country after a push from the central government to reduce congestion and traffic related injuries near schools.
Croydon itself already had 14 permanent HSS active in the borough prior to this consultation.
This new wave of HSS was of particular importance to both the council, considering the borough’s statistics around the prevalence of air pollution in Croydon.
According to the Director of Public Health’s annual report 2017, ‘Croydon has the highest rate of hospital admissions for childhood (0-9 years) asthma and the third-highest number of asthma deaths in London.’
This scheme forms part of Perry’s wider Business Plan to boost Croydon’s post covid recovery and reduce congestion in the borough. It also meets the objectives set out in the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy.
Croydon Councillor Stuart King, cabinet lead for environment and transport said: “I’m pleased that the new School Street proposals have been so popular.
“These schemes make the area around a school entrance safer. They have also been shown to encourage parents to walk their children to school, with fewer school run trips as a result. That means less congestion, safer schools and healthier pupils.
Story by William Kelly, The Catholic Network
