This consultation proposes to make permanent the first Healthy Streets scheme in Camden, which is at St Joseph’s School in Macklin Street, Covent Garden.
An experimental timed closure was implemented in July 2016 through the use of street signage reinforced by a retractable bollard managed by school staff.
Camden notes that since the trial was introduced, the number of parents driving their children to school has reduced; and the school and some of its parents have also reported that they feel safer walking with their children to and from school.
See the consultation on Camden’s website:
https://consultations.wearecamden.org/culture-environment/st-josephs-school-permanent-proposal/
See also the talk by Ben Knowles Healthy School Streets
CCC’s response
This response to the consultation on the proposed Permanent Timed Road Close on Macklin Street (St Joseph’s Primary School) is from Camden Cycling Campaign, the local borough group of London Cycling Campaign (LCC). We represent the interests of cyclists living or working in the borough of Camden. We have discussed the consultation on CycleScape and all responses there have been in favour.
We strongly support the Healthy Streets approach, as trialled by LB Camden at St Joseph’s school and we look forward to seeing further trials at other schools.
We are pleased to see from this consultation that behaviour changes have occurred in that the number of parents driving their children to school has reduced. We are also pleased to hear that some of the parents have reported that they feel safer walking with their children to and from school. We hope that this will encourage all of them to walk or cycle to school.
We therefore strongly support the proposal to make the time closure permanent. Specifically we agree with the proposal to enforce the closure with the use retractable bollards.
Regarding the times for the closures: they certainly should not be shorter than those in the trial but we would prefer that the closure would gradually become permanent, for example, lasting the entire school day and also operating during the school holidays.
Please would you acknowledge receipt of this response. We would be very happy to discuss any aspect of our comments; contact details are below.
