School Streets: making the school run safer
Many schools across Southampton experience several safety and traffic issues at the beginning and end of each school day. To help with this the City Council has a Safer Routes to School programme which is creating routes to and spaces outside of schools at these key times so they are safe for everyone.
By creating a safer, more pleasant environment for everyone around schools it promotes active travel to school by walking, wheeling and cycling, which in turn, helps to reduce congestion and pollution in the area.
One way we are doing this is by implementing School Streets.
What are School Streets?
A School Street sees a road directly outside or surrounding a school at key times temporarily limited to traffic creating a predominately pedestrian and cycle zone.
The benefits of a School Street include:
- Increasing walking, wheeling and cycling for pupils and parents,
- Reduction in traffic speed, congestion and pollution around schools providing safer routes to children and parents getting to school,
- Improvements in levels of childhood activity and reducing obesity
Restricting and removing traffic and parents’ vehicles from outside schools at drop off and pick up times provides a much safer environment for everyone at peak times and helps those who are able to walk, cycle or wheel to school and through the School Street zone.
Where are the School Streets?
There are 19 permanent School Streets in Southampton.
The majority of our School Streets have operational timings of 08:00 – 09:30 and 14:15 – 15:45. These timings cover the start and finish times of all infant, junior, primary and secondary schools in the city. In addition to the timings of most pre-schools, breakfast clubs and some afterschool clubs. The timings also prevent parents/carers parking within the School Street zone before the end of the school day.
Permanent School Streets schemes in Southampton:
The following School Street schemes operate between the hours of 08:00 to 09:30 and 14:15 to 15:45.
- Bassett Green Primary - Honeysuckle Road
- Bitterne C of E - Brownlow Avenue
- Bitterne Park Secondary – Dimond Road
- Cantell School - Violet Road
- Foundry Lane Primary – English Road
- Freemantle CE Community Academy – Mansion Road
- Hightown Primary CE – Tunstall Road
- Mansbridge Primary - Octavia Road
- Mansel Park Primary - Porlock Road
- Moorlands Primary – Kesteven Way
- Regents Park Community College - Richville Road
- Shirley Infant School - Wilton Road
- Shirley Junior School - Bellemoor Road
- Shirley Warren Primary - Warren Crescent
- St Mark’s CE Primary - Stafford Road North
- Valentine Primary - Valentine Avenue
- Wordsworth Primary - Victor Street
These School Streets are in operation from 08:15 to 09:00 and 14:45 to 15:30 due to the folding bollards being used at these sites:
- St John’s Primary – French Street
- St Mary’s CE Primary – Golden Grove
How do School Streets work?
The restrictions, implemented through a legal Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO), mean that most vehicles, including those driven by parents/carers at the schools, are not able to drive into the roads covered by the restriction.
There are however a number of exemptions to the restriction that permit certain traffic to use the roads during the period the School Street is in force.
Our School Streets all operate under permit scheme and if you live on a street affect you will need to apply for a valid permit to drive through the School Street during the restrictions advertised.
The permitted vehicles are:
- Residents living within the School Street zone
- Businesses operating within the School Street zone
- Blue Badge holders who provide proof they require access to the street during the specified times
- Medical practitioners / district nurses / carers / and support workers attending to someone at an address in the School Street
- Contracted school Transport (including Taxis and Private Hire) that need to drop off pupils within the school street – Taxi / PH fleet list serving the school will need to be provided when applying.
- School service vehicle (only the school may apply)
- Authorised School Staff requiring access to a school car park within the School Street zone (only the school may apply)
Schools Streets operate either by a manned closure using volunteers to move barriers and flexible signs at the start and end, or just with signage, or with camera enforcement.
All Southampton’s school streets have signs at the entrances to the restricted area detailing the times of the School Street. Examples are below.
A manned closure involves stewards acting on behalf of the school using concertina barriers and supporting signage to restrict vehicles entering the School Street to those authorised and permitted. If you are authorised or permitted access to a School Street with a stewarded operation, please follow the directions of the stewards and be prepared to be escorted at walking pace to your destination.
Two of our School Streets allows buses through. These are regulated by a different TRO as a Bus Gate but have the same restrictions on vehicles and same times. These are at Cantell School on Violet Road and Honeysuckle Road at Bassett Green School. Both will be camera enforced – only Violet Road is currently with Honeysuckle Road coming soon.
Southampton City Council has the powers to enforce some moving traffic offences. When a School Street moves to camera enforcement, drivers of permitted vehicles will be invited to apply for a permit. Permits will not be physical and will be issued upon the satisfactory provision of evidence for an application.
Images of Pedestrian and Cycle Only Zone signage used for School Streets and bus only/bus gate signage used for School Streets
Latest news
February 2025
Following consultation, four of the sites on the School Streets Experimental Traffic Regulation Order that was implemented in January 2024, have been made permanent. These four sites are located on:
- Brownlow Avenue – Bitterne C of E Primary
- Dimond Road – Bitterne Park School
- English Road – Foundry Lane Primary
- Kesteven Way – Moorlands Primary School
November 2024
Through our Safer Routes to School Programme, funded by Active Travel Fund 4, we have delivered pedestrian and cycle improvements and a School Street on Honeysuckle Road outside of Bassett Green Primary School. This School Street operates under a Bus Only Street/Bus Gate restriction. Click here for more details.
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