There is a general duty on local authorities to promote sustainable travel and transport. This is under the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
School Travel Plan (STP)s assess the travel and road safety improvement needs for each school.
Safer Routes to School initiatives
These initiatives aim to improve the environment and safety on roads around the schools. This is to enable and encourage pupils to walk and cycle to their schools.
Usually, they involve a package of road improvement measures. These are supported by:
- other school and community activities,
- incentives, and
- education
Together they provide the infrastructure and skills to make walking and cycling safer.
Safer Routes to School projects are co-operative ventures between:
- the school
- pupils
- parents, and
- the local authority
Highway changes alone are not enough to make a project successful. The barriers that pupils and parents might encounter on their home-to-school journeys are identified and listed in the STP.
The STP and barrier reports are reviewed annually and the identified issues are assessed based on:
- their risk levels
- the existing safety provisions in place
- the accident numbers if any, and
- the date it was first raised in the STP
The physical measures that are generally used may include:
- traffic calming measures; such as road humps and speed cushions
- centre island pedestrian refuge
- providing suitable pedestrian crossing facilities such as; zebra crossing, pelican or puffin crossing
- improved, lighting, signage and road markings
- implementing 20 mph zone, as a combination of:
- speed reduction measures and
- lowering speed limits in an area around the school
- construction of informal crossings
- construction of cycle paths and footways; either shared or segregated.
- formal or informal crossings on a raised table or platform
- school zones