Abingdon & Oxford - proposed permanent School Streets

We're asking for your views on the proposal to make permanent Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) so we can continue the School Streets programme with participating schools in Oxfordshire from autumn 2022. The participating schools are:

• Oxford – Larkrise primary school
• Oxford – Windmill primary school
• Oxford – St Ebbe’s CE primary school
• Abingdon – St Nicolas CE primary school.

The School Streets programme was introduced via the Department for Transport funded ‘active travel’ programme and launched under an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) in 2021. During this time, the programme was operated by volunteers manning temporary barriers preventing general vehicle access around school gates at the start and at the end of the school day during school term-times. The current ETROs are due to expire later in 2022.

If we continue the School Streets programme as proposed we will be implementing two key components that we are asking for your feedback on:

• A legal permission to close the roads accessing the school gates at specified times. The order that allows this is called a 'prohibition of motor vehicles' restriction. The closure times will generally cover a 45-minute period around school start time and then around school finish time. There will be exemptions for some drivers (see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for more details).
• The use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to enforce motor vehicle restrictions during the specified closure times. The cameras would either be a fixed ANPR camera or an ANPR equipped car positioned at access points to the School Streets zones and fixed-penalty notices would be issued for vehicles breaking the restrictions.

The aim is to create an environment where people can walk, wheel, cycle, scoot or park and walk to school with lower air pollution and traffic congestion and make the school gates environment safer for children.

Further details on 'School Streets' and how they help promote active travel can be found here

What happens next?

Please read the detailed information provided on this consultation, and take the time to complete the survey as your views and opinions matter. Your response should be completed and returned by Friday 26 August 2022.

Whilst we will endeavour to answer simple queries during the course of the consultation, any more complex questions/issues will be appraised and dealt with as part of consultation process.

The County Council will review the responses and if necessary (i.e. if objections are received) prepare a report to be presented to the Cabinet Member for Highway Management at a meeting scheduled for later in 2022. This will be public meeting at which members of the public may apply to speak. The agenda and reports for meetings will be made available on the Oxfordshire County Council web site about a week before the meeting (please note that occasionally it is necessary to defer reports to a later meeting, and it is therefore advisable to check the agenda ahead of attending a meeting). The Forward Plan of decisions meetings can be viewed here