Beckenham School Street Closes

The School Street at St Mary’s RC Primary School will not be reopening due to the lack of volunteers to manage the barriers.

Local residents and parents have manage the barriers since the scheme started but the commitment needed is considerable and so the scheme will now formally cease (it has been suspended for several month).

"This is a direct result of the Conservative council's decision to withdraw support for School Streets in November 2021," said Lib Dem Councillor for Beckenham Chloe-Jane Ross. "School streets that rely on volunteers to enforce the restrictions are doomed to fail because of the commitment required. Thats why other boroughs use ANPR cameras to manage school streets, but Bromley’s Conservatives have said no to ANPR cameras for school streets.  Even if funding was available from TfL no school street in the borough could have one."

School streets are where the road outside the school is closed to traffic during school opening and closing times. There were 5 pilot schemes in Bromley but there is now just one left. By contrast the number across London is growing - there are currently 510 - and the number is growing because they work! Parents whose schools benefitted from the pilot schemes have declared the schemes to be “transformational  and “fantastic”; in one scheme one third of children stopped travelling by car in less than a year.

There is clear evidence that school streets really deliver - they reduce the number of car journeys to school, which makes our roads safer, which encourages more children to walk to school, which improves our air quality, which makes our children healthier. And of course children enjoy the social chit-chat with friends as they walk to school making a much nicer start to the day.

The Liberal Democrats want to see the number of school streets in Bromley increased - where the road layout and views of parents and local residents justify it - with proper support form the Council in enforcing the road restrictions probably involving the use of ANPR cameras.