Pilot will see school streets closed at peak times
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THE roads around two Moray schools will be closed to traffic during drop-off and pick-up times as part of a new pilot, agreed today.
It comes after a trial at New Elgin Primary School which saw a one-way closure in place on September 6 during the hours of 8.30-9am and 2.30-3pm.
That was run in conjunction with Living Streets and was deemed a success by participants, with 84 per cent of online survey respondents stating the closure made a positive difference to the area around the school.
Agreeing to the pilot at two Moray schools this morning, members of the local authority's economic development and infrastructure services committee heard the pilot would run from April 13 to December 18, costing in the region of £20,000 per school.
Cycling Walking & Safer Streets Grant Funding will be used to pay for the pilot, with the two schools still to be selected by the head of environmental and commercial services.
A School Street scheme sees the road temporary closed to vehicles, with the exception of those belonging to local residents as well as doctors and utility companies.
The purpose is to dramatically reduce the number of moving vehicles in the vicinity of a school in order to: tackle air pollution, reduce road safety risks and encourage active travel.
A report to members stated: "It should be noted that if the trials are successful and a decision is made to make the trial sites permanent, then the additional costs would be relatively modest, as the initial funding would cover the principal costs of signs and lines etc.
"If the trial is not successful then any alterations to signs and lines would be removed."
Schools Streets are already in place in Edinburgh, while pilot project are also running in Glasgow. Committee members heard schools will now be written to in order to identify the two pilot schools.
