Two local schools will be part of a group of six schools across the city to take part in a pilot of Birmingham City Council’s pioneering Car Free School Streets scheme from September.
Cofton Primary School in Wootton Road, Longbridge / West Heath and St Francis CE Primary School in Teazel Avenue, Bournville are to take part in the pilot of the scheme.
In a bid to reduce congestion and air pollution around schools, while improving the safety of children and encouraging more healthy modes of transport, roads around schools will be closed to motorised traffic for up to an hour at the beginning and end of the school day.
Inspired by successful schemes already being operated by other local authorities – including neighbouring Solihull – it is planned that the scheme will roll out to more schools across the city in the future.
The full list of schools involved are:
- Alston Primary (Heartlands)
- Chilcote Primary (Hall Green South)
- Cofton Primary (Longbridge & West Heath)
- Featherstone Primary (Stockland Green)
- Nelson Primary (Ladywood)
- St Francis CE Primary (Bournville & Cotteridge)
The restrictions locally from September 2019
Cofton Primary School
| Where | Wootton Road (from Nuthurst Road) and Longmeadow Grove |
| When | Monday to Friday, 8:15am to 9:15am and 3pm to 4pm |
Local residents, parents and carers are invited to a drop-in session on Wednesday 10 July, 3.30pm to 7pm at Cofton Primary
St Francis CE Primary School
| Where | Teazel Avenue |
| When | Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm |
Local residents, parents and carers are invited to a drop-in session on Thursday 11 July, 3pm to 5pm at St Francis
Restricted Zone
From September 2019, any driver entering a restricted zone at a restricted time could face a Fixed Penalty Notice of £50.
Local residents will be issued with permits and there will be other exceptions, such as blue badge holders and emergency vehicles.
‘Put children and families first’
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “School Streets are places where we should put children and families first, by encouraging walking, scooting and cycling, and keeping people safe and healthy. Introducing Car Free School Streets will support a move towards more sustainable modes of travel and help improve air quality across the city.
“Air pollution affects everyone in Birmingham, but especially children. Transport is responsible for around 80 per cent of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and the school gate is a location where we are particularly exposed to this. These closures will really benefit local communities, improving people’s health and the environment.
“This is a pilot scheme but ultimately I want every school in the city to be a clean air safe haven for our children.”
In Birmingham, this scheme will be delivered as part of the Modeshift STARS scheme, which provides a range of activities and initiatives that support safer, greener and healthier travel to school. This includes resources to help tackle illegal, dangerous and inconsiderate parking outside schools as well as to encourage people to switch off their engines.
The council will monitor and assess the impact of Car Free School Streets before deciding whether this should be made permanent, as well as identifying opportunities to expand the scheme to other suitable locations in 2020.
More information on the scheme can be found on the Birmingham City Council website.
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