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06
Sept 2023
Trial scheme banning school run cars from Harrogate street launched today
A trial scheme to close a Harrogate street outside a busy junior school during traffic at peak times was launched this morning.
Beechwood Grove is now part of the School Streets pilot project, preventing parents from using it to access Oatlands Junior School at the beginning and end of the school day.
From today – the first day of the new school year at Oatlands Junior School – the measures will see school traffic banned from the road between 8.30am and 9am, and from 3pm to 3.45pm, on weekdays during term time.
The scheme is the first School Streets pilot in North Yorkshire.
Residents, school staff, blue badge holders, official school transport and emergency services are exempt from the closure.
As an alternative, parents are encouraged to bring their children to school by foot, bicycle, or scooter. Those who need to drive are asked to use the ‘park and ride’ scheme, parking at Hornbeam Park railway station, M&S Simply Food on Leeds Road, or St Mark’s Church, and walking the rest of the way.
Hazel Peacock & Dr Vicki Evans, of Outlands Road Safety and Active Travel Campaign, told the Stray Ferret:
The move comes amid incidents involving cars and school pupils in Harrogate.
This year, a pupil at the junior school was injured when a car mounted a pavement outside the school gates, while a more serious collision on Yew Tree Lane left two 15-year-old Rossett schoolboys with serious injuries.
Following the incidents, a campaign to introduce 20mph limits and other restrictions on roads around Oatlands, Pannal Ash and Rossett gathered momentum.
Headteachers of all the local primary and secondary schools met several times, along with councillors, highways officers and parents, to discuss road safety.
A petition of more than 1,000 signatures was presented to North Yorkshire Council and the proposal was debated by both the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, and the council’s executive.
Read more:
- Trial scheme will ban school run cars from Harrogate street
- Headteachers unite to support 20mph speed limit near Harrogate schools
- Two Rossett pupils seriously injured as pick-up truck hits wall outside Harrogate school
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