Agenda item

The Sub-Committee received a report regarding School Travel Plans.

Following a brief overview of the report by the Traffic and Road Safety Team Leader, Members asked the following questions and received responses from the Team Leader:

·                     Q:  Was there enough enforcement activity taking place for the School Travel Plans?

A:  Two CCTV vans were being used around the borough, and they were effective as a deterrent to stop people from parking where they are not allowed to.  Several “walking buses” had also been set up.

·                     Q:  Has there been mapping to see if the plans had been having any impact?

A:  Surveys had been undertaken, and the Traffic and Road Safety Team knew where people were coming from and could see when people change their behaviour.

·                     Q:  Were complaints mapped so problem areas could be identified?

A:  Complaints were recorded on a system that was searchable.

·                     Q:  Was there capacity for schools situated close together to cooperate in the implementation of the plan?

A:  Schools were encouraged to communicate and work together, and the Traffic and Road Safety Team had reviewed satellite images and introduced zebra crossings, which schoolchildren had been encouraged to use.

·                     Q:  Regarding schools that did not have a “star” accreditation, was this because they had not tried to implement the plan yet?

A:  There had been high staff turnover in some schools which had made ongoing engagement difficult, but this was starting to improve.  Some schools were not aware of the benefits in taking part in the scheme and attaining the “star” accreditation.

·                     Q:  Were the timescales for schools to adopt the Travel Plans realistic?

A:  One of the objectives behind the Travel Plans is to change the culture of the school, and this was achievable as new children start the school every year.

·                     Q:  Is help available for schools that have a ‘silver’ accreditation, but need help to achieve the ‘gold’ accreditation?

A:  The main priority was to engage with schools that don’t have any accreditation, but there are resources within the team to support schools that had committed to implementing their Travel Plans.

·                     Q:  How are the accreditations managed, and is the “bronze” target a realistic one?

A:  Transport for London awarded the accreditations. “Bronze” was awarded when 40% of pupils were using alternative methods of travelling, “silver” for 50% and “gold” for 60%.  The targets were achievable if parents, teachers and pupils were engaged with the plan.

·                     Q:  Is delivering communications to parents via their children a reliable and effective method of engaging with parents?

A:  There were also newsletters, forums, and ambassadors for the scheme who work with teachers to try and get all parties engaged.  The budget for the scheme was £80,000, and £50,000 of this was allocated for physical measures such as zebra crossings.

·                     Q:  Are the targets different for each school?

A:  The target for a school would be one step above their current level, so schools with no accreditation would have a “bronze” target, schools with a “bronze” accreditation would have a “silver” target.

·                     Q:  What about the schools that do not appear on the list?

A:  The ownership of the list had changed hands since the list was last updated, and members of staff were aware that it needed to be updated.

·                     Q:  Would sixth form colleges like St Dominic’s be included in the plans, as the surrounding area had a lot of congestion?

A:  The School Travel Plans were mostly aimed at primary schools, but the team could review the causes of congestion and try to tackle it.

·                     Q:  There were no additional funds in 2015 – 16 for the deployment of crossing guards, what impact would this have on the walking buses?

A:  The Traffic and Road Safety Team had been working to improve the infrastructure of the walking buses and replace the crossing guards with other physical measures.

·                     Q:  Would it be possible for refuse collection vehicles to plan routes so they did not contribute to areas of heavy congestion?

A:  Health and Safety audits had been done on the routes taken by refuse collection vehicles, and the routes had been planned using a Route Optimisation Programme.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.