Norfolk School Streets
Norfolk School Streets are timed road closures around selected schools in Norfolk. During pick-up and drop off times, certain roads will be closed to vehicles in order to allow children to travel safely to and from their school.
The Norfolk School Streets programme is a trial which aims to make the journey to and from school safer and more pleasant.
This trial, run by Norfolk County Council in partnership with Sustrans aims to improve the school journey for children, parents/carers and the local community.
The next stage of the trial is subject to funding, and cannot be confirmed at this time. Please note, Norfolk County Council are not accepting new schools at this point in time.
What are School Streets?
School Streets are timed road closures around selected schools in Norfolk. These road closures aim to restrict vehicle access during drop-off and pick up times. During certain times, vehicles will not be permitted to enter the School Street unless they are exempt.
The School Streets initiative was trialled here in Norfolk as it has been successful at cutting congestion around schools and boosting the number of children and parents cycling, walking, and wheeling to school elsewhere in the country.
The pilot has seen a lot of support from residents and parents and has already provided some very useful feedback. The Council will carefully consider the effectiveness and impact of School Streets before determining next steps.
What are the benefits of School Streets?
We appreciate that any change will come with concerns. However, School Streets can provide many benefits to our communities and the health and wellbeing of our children and young people. These include:
Click on any of the above benefits to find out more!
If you have a question, why not check out our FAQ section to see if we’ve answered it already?
Previous School Streets Case Studies
School Streets started in 2015 in Scotland. Since then, School Streets have grown hugely with over 400 now in operation or trialled.
Other parts of the country have had positive results from their trials.
Number of schools: 10
Outcomes:
• Average speed reductions of 1.2mph
• 2,259 fewer vehicles on all streets surveyed
• Less than 20% of parents and residents perceived School Streets as a difficulty
• Only 15% of parents and residents thought that the streets with vehicle restrictions did not feel safer
• Air quality improvements with associated reductions in Nitrogen Oxides
Find out more: Click here to find out more about Edinburgh School Streets
Number of schools: 3
Outcomes:
• 70% of residents thought that the School Street scheme had a positive impact
• 90% of residents surveyed supported the continuation of the scheme
• Reduction in traffic volume of between 35% – 54% across the three sites
• Roughly a 25% reduction in the number of people driving to the school gates, 18% increase in park and stride take up, and 5% increase in walking
• Residents living in adjacent streets had not seen a significant increase in displacement parking as a result of the scheme.
• There were some issues around enforcement of new 20mph speed limits around the schools and the management of the permit scheme
Find out more: Click here to find out more about Solihull School Streets
Number of schools: 275 intervention schools and 221 control schools across 10 boroughs
Outcomes:
• 77% of those who responded to a survey support School Streets remaining in place permanently
• 76% of respondents thought School Streets should be rolled out more widely across London
• Walking to and from school increased 27% and cycling 5% with a corresponding drop in car travel by 12% and taxi by 16%
• Respondents from School Street schools are more satisfied with the ease and safety of active travel, along with air quality; there is still concern about danger from traffic, albeit significantly lower than Control Schools (those without School Streets)
• 40% of respondents thought there were more parking problems on the surrounding streets than this time last year but this was less than at control schools (48%)
Find out more: Click here to find out more about London School Streets
What trials occurred in Norfolk?
The first trial phase has come to an end, and no further schools are being accepted at this time. Below are the schools that were suggested for a trial.
St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School
After concluding the monitoring phase at this school, and analysing all the data and feedback that was collected, we have decided not to progress with a School Street at St Augustine’s Catholic Primary.
Unfortunately, a School Street would not be the most effective option in the current context. However, we are committed to continuing our work with the school, children, parents, staff and local community to collect further feedback on what could be a suitable and effective way to address the issues that are clearly present.
Permits
Certain vehicles are exempt from the School Street and can drive within the closure area at walking pace. Exemptions include residents, business staff and customers, blue badge holders, emergency services, taxis and carers.
Tax disk style exemption permits were issued to residents and regular visitors to the School Street before the trial began.
Get in touch
The School Streets scheme is a trial so is yet to determine whether additional schools will be implemented. However, if the decision is made to extend the scheme an expression of interest form will be made available online. The next stage of the trial is subject to funding and NCC is not considering any additional schools at this point in time.
For further questions, please contact SusTrans below. Please do not contact Active Norfolk as we do not manage this project.