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28
Feb
Speed limits outside all North Yorkshire schools to be reviewed, council says
Speed limits outside every school in North Yorkshire are set to be reviewed, North Yorkshire Council announced today.
The authority said it will assess more than 400 education facilities across the county, including schools, nurseries and colleges, starting with those where speed limits are the highest.
The council said it has "adopted a presumption in favour of lowering the speed limits" in these areas.
Twenty-two sites have been reviewed so far. The speed limit outside Cundall Manor School, near Boroughbridge, was today lowered from 60mph to 40mph, and the speed limit outside Appleton Wiske Primary School was dropped from 30mph to 20mph.
An additional 16 schemes are currently being consulted on, and speed limits are expected to be reduced in those areas.
The council also said the introduction of North Yorkshire’s largest wide-scale 20mph speed limit is "progressing". It covers seven schools across Harrogate: Ashville College, Rosset School, Harrogate Grammar School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Oatlands Junior School, Oatlands Infant School and St Aidan's CE High School.
The council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said today:
This is an unprecedented and coordinated effort to improve road safety for our young people.
There are more than 400 sites to review across the county’s vast area, but we are committed to reviewing each and every one.
We’re focussing first on the schools where speeds are highest. For example, there are 14 further schools where the speed limit nearby is 60mph. We want to consider reduced speeds here as a priority.
Cllr Duncan said the authority is working with schools and local councillors at every stage and pledged to “always pay attention to national guidance and the circumstances of each location”.
“I am proud we are able to bring forward this major initiative that has not been seen in North Yorkshire before”, he added.
Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, executive member for education, also said:
Ensuring the safety of our children is a top priority and I’m glad to see we are actively looking at reviewing all educational sites, including Appleton Wiske Primary School.
Reducing speed limits outside schools should result in fewer accidents and will create a safer environment for students, parents, and staff, ensuring that every journey to and from school is as safe as possible.
I would also urge all drivers to respect the limits and drive with care in school zones.
Neil Clark, headteacher at Appleton Wiske Primary School, welcomed today’s changes. He said there have been “significant concerns” over road safety outside the school.
He added:
Our junior road safety officers have discussed the importance of road safety in assemblies and raised the profile of this important issue for our pupils.
We are absolutely delighted that the council has now implemented a 20mph speed restriction through Appleton Wiske village, which includes the road outside our primary school.
This will certainly have a positive impact on the safety of our whole school community for years to come.
The council said it is also preparing to introduce a new speed management strategy to guide a review of speed limits across its 5,700-mile network.
The strategy is expected to be approved in the next few months.
Cllr Duncan added today:
We will not take a blanket approach to speed limits. We have rejected calls for 20mph to be introduced as the new default across our towns and villages, opting instead for a tailored approach that ensures consultation with communities.
We will ultimately review speed limits on every inch of our network. We will assess limits on urban roads in our towns and villages, but on our rural roads too.
We will review limits on a phased basis, backed up by extra resource and investment, building an ongoing pipeline of schemes for delivery.
It will ensure we have a consistent, proactive and countywide approach, not only to 20mph limits, but all speed limits, with strong democratic oversight and an emphasis on consultation.
Schools identified
North Yorkshire Council listed the following schools as those identified as part of the scheme:
• Cundall Manor School – 60mph to 40 mph (scheme introduced)
• Appleton Wiske Primary School – 30mph to 20mph (scheme introduced)
• Threshfield Primary School – 60mph to 30mph (scheme under consultation)
• Forest Moor School – 60mph to 40mph (scheme under consultation)
• Dacre Braithwaite Primary School – 60mph to 40mph (scheme under consultation)
• Kirkby in Malhamdale Primary School – 60mph to 40mph (scheme under consultation)
• Kettlesing Felliscliffe Primary School – 60mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Glaisdale Primary School – 60mph to 30mph (scheme under consultation)
• Hackness Primary School – 60mph to 40mph (scheme under consultation)
• Knayton Primary Academy – 40mph to 30mph (scheme under consultation)
• Fountains School (Grantley) – 30mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Egton Church of England Primary and St Hedda's RC Primary – 30mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Sicklinghall Primary School – 30mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Hunton and Arrathorne Primary School – 30mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Kirk Fenton CE Primary School (Church Fenton) – 30mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Glasshouses Community Primary School – 30mph to 20mph (scheme under consultation)
• Markington Primary School – 30mph to 20mph (under consultation)
• Queen Margaret's School – 60mph to 40mph (under consultation)
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