Streets around a primary school in Armley could be closed to traffic during the school run, according to a council report.
St Bartholomew’s Primary School in Armley is one of three proposed schools across the city which may be added to Leeds City Council’s School Streets scheme.
School Streets make roads outside schools into pedestrian and cyclist zones at the times displayed on the signs during term time. This helps to reduce air pollution and keep children safe from traffic.
The council report says only two of the three proposed schools will be chosen for the latest phase of the initiative – Windmill Primary in Belle Isle and Ireland Wood being the other two. The third-placed school will go on the reserve list if either of the other schools drop out.
The report stated:”School Streets are where a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is used to restrict vehicular access on roads outside schools during the morning drop off and afternoon pick up times, with exemptions for access permit holders, authorised vehicles and blue badge holders.
“Fourteen School Streets were installed in Leeds as part of an 18-month trial during the Covid-19 pandemic to support social distancing outside schools, increase active travel to and from school, whilst also improving air quality and road safety. Of these, two have been withdrawn and 12 remain.”
Data from all three potential sites is being gathered by the Council.
The report concludes: “The implementation of more School Streets in Leeds will maintain the positive impacts recorded, including increased levels of active travel on the journey to school and improved perceptions of road safety and air quality outside school gates.”
The latest phase of the scheme is funded by £48,000 from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA). The two successful schools will be subject Experimental Traffic Regulation Order for 18 months to evaluate the success of the scheme.
Hollybush Primary School, Bramley, and Primrose Hill Primary in Pudsey both successfully operate the schemes, although one at Beecroft Primary in Burley was scrapped in 2021.
The report can be read in full here.
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This is brilliant news for St Bart’s, traffic and parking is horrendous. Access for homeowners around the school and Middle Cross Street is awful. Cars coming up from Tong Road cause blockages for homeowners and people trying to come home and indeed go to work. And tempers flare.