Crondall Street to close to traffic at school pick up and drop off times
The road outside a Hackney primary school will close to traffic in the mornings and afternoons to cut pollution and make it safer and easier for children to walk and cycle to school. Parents and local residents supported the proposals for Crondall Street, by St John the Baptist Primary School, in a recent consultation.
From 26 June Crondall Street will be a pedestrian and cyclist only zone between 8.30am - 9.15am and 3.15pm – 4:00pm during term time. People who live on Crondall Street will be able to enter and exit the street by car if their vehicle is registered. Non-registered vehicles entering the street during the times of operation will be identified by camera and issued a fixed penalty notice.
I’m delighted that the majority of parents and local residents agree with our proposal to close Crondall Street during school pick up and drop off times.
The vast majority of children in Hackney walk or cycle to school, but too many children still make the journey by car. Driving children to school is bad for air quality and bad for children’s health. I hope Crondall Street will be the first of many School Streets in the borough – just one of the things thing we’re doing to try to make it safer and easier for children to walk and cycle to school.
The road should be visibly calmer, safer and cleaner during the School Street times. The Council will be collecting data on how parents and pupils travel to school and taking air quality readings.
The second School Street pilot will be outside Tyssen Community School on Oldhill Street in Stamford Hill. CCTV footage released earlier this year shows irresponsible drivers putting pedestrians at risk by mounting the pavement right outside the school entrance.
Parents and local residents will be consulted on the Oldhill Street scheme over the summer, with the closures planned for September.
When the Council has evaluated the success of the two pilots, it will decide whether to roll out the scheme to other schools in the borough although not all schools will be suitable for School Streets.