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School run exclusion zone
Dominic Hayes, Education Correspondent10 Oct 2007
Parents could be banned from driving within 200 metres of school gates under plans to tackle congestion and global warming.
Camden council is considering excluding cars from areas with a heavy concentration of schools during rush hour.
The plan's supporters believe it would help combat the child obesity crisis by encouraging children to walk or cycle to school and reduce carbon emissions.
But parents' groups are fiercely opposed, saying the proposal would hit families with children at private schools the hardest.
The plan for the exclusion zone, which would not affect emergency vehicles or those performing "essential" services, has been put forward by Camden's Sustainability Task Force, which advises the council on eco-friendly policies, for consideration early next year. Most of its previous recommendations have been accepted.
Alexis Rowell, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Belsize who chairs the task force, denied he was a "class warrior" targeting wealthy families.
He said: "In my ward, we have a lot of private schools for historical reasons. However, because of house prices and the desire to have a garden, many parentsnow live outside the area and often bring their children to school by car.
"Car exclusion zones around schools during school-run hours would be one way to address the problem but safer streets, lower speed limits, escorted groups of children, separate cycle lanes, school buses, better public transport with better access for parents with buggies and help to relocate schools that are no longer situated near their pupils are also ways we can help to make the school run more sustainable and children happier and healthier."
Mr Rowell said he wanted a debate on the issue, adding that most children at Camden's state schools already walk or use public transport to reach school.
The Schools Travel Action Group, which represents parents who do the school run, said it was "nonsense" to suggest only children at private schools were picked up and dropped off by car.
Co-chairwoman Vicky Fobel said: "This raises issues about parent choice - making it impossible for parents to drive means they won't have the choice to send their children to schools outside their immediate area. We don't live in a police state and people should be able to choose the school they want, even if some parents have to drive."
In June, the council decided to reduce the number of its travel permits, which allow parents to park for up to 15 minutes in residents' parking bays near 37 schools, from the 2,430 to just 500 a year from next September. When the scheme started in 2003, 6,944 permits were issued.
A Camden spokeswoman said officials and executive members would be the first to consider any recommendations from the task force once they received them, probably in February.
Reader views (10)
Why do Camden propsose such silly unthought through ideas like this.
Firstly I would love to cut down on traffic. If I could send my child walking every morning or on the bus I would but I can't. To rely on public buses is a no goer as you can't get on one in the morning as they are all full.
I have an 8 month old and a 4 year old. Trying to get them both up, dressed, fed and out into school by 8.30 is an art in itself let alone geting myself into work on time and looking half decent. A four year old child cannot be left on their own to go into school and have to be escorted into school. Walking in would be 35min walk all mostly up hill in the morning is no minor feet for a four year old with all the kit and child in tow and with time constraints.
When they are older I will expect them to walk as it is good and I agree that school children above a certain age should walk to school or use public transport in an ideal world. This is true for all.
Camden would like us to use electric cars well I would love to but where would I charge it. They won't let me change my front garden into partial parking.
This year permits went to car shares only. I can see the reduction in traffic and I know I have eliminated the need to go to collect in my car.
Imposing an exclusion zone is shifting the problem further away from the gate and not tackling it effectivly.
Residents, parents and schools need to communicate and work together on this one and not be railroaded by Camden.
- Sc, West Hampstead, London, 15/10/2007 21:48
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This is music to the ears of Hampstead residents, the majority of whom are fed up to the back teeth with the school run. Of course parents have the right to choose whatever school they wish for their children but they also have to think about not only how they are going to transport their children to their chosen school but the long term impact on their children's health and welfare of ferrying them everyday in the back of a car. It is not a right to park your car wherever you see fit, inconvenience other people to a massive extent and then not expect them to complain about it. For too long the residents of Hampstead have been paying the social costs in terms of pollution and congestion of the school run and it has to stop.
- Siobhan E Breen, London, UK, 10/10/2007 19:33
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This 200m exclusion zone will only serve to bring total chaos to an already overcrowded area and bring total misery to local residents. The effect of the 200m zones in the Fitzjohns Ave area will effectivley close a main artery and divert the the traffic through the narrow side roads, thus increasing pollution in an area that has one of the highest pollution levels in the UK. Cllr Rowell obviously under estimates the determination of the north London parent to drive their offspring to schools. I would add that the reduction in permits has reduced traffic in the area, his other ideas carry credence most of which have been discussed by the School Travel Steering Group.
- Chris Knight, Hampstead Town, 10/10/2007 18:25
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This is not just about congestion. I live in the same road as the local primary school (which my children attend). I knew when I moved there that it would get busy at times but nothing has prepared me for the level of recklessness and antagonism you get from parents dropping off and collecting their kids.
Parents regularly park across my driveway, blocking me in, and double park on the yellow zig zags outside the school (which are clearly marked as a no parking area) making it impossible to see to cross the road with your children. They behave atrociously when challenged. Yesterday I asked a woman to move a car from across my drive and she told me to go back into my house 'otherwise I will smash your ... face in' - all within hearing of numerous young kids and their parents. Last year both my older kids were nearly run over by people pulling away from the zig zags without looking (and one child actually was run over). Our lollipop lady was physically attacked by a parent who had literally driven into her!
You would not believe what goes on in and around schools at drop off/collection time. It is like a war zone - threats, violence, bad driving, you name it. Kids should be able to get to school safely without having to witness adults, who should be setting an example, behaving like thugs. I would welcome this measure. If parents live so far away from the school that they have to drive their kids in, then they should move their child to a nearer school.
- Lindsay Wright, London, 10/10/2007 14:47
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Funnily enough our children are at a private school in Surrey and there is already a self imposed exclusion zone around the gates. 200 yards is a bit bigger than ours but we could live with that. Trying to make this into a class thing is a bit daft really. State school kids can be larger than average as well.
- Alex, Surrey, 10/10/2007 13:57
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It is a great idea to ban parents from taking their children to school. Nearly all schools in the London area are within walking distance from the homes of the children and after all, the most important criteria to be accepted to a school is the distance in which children live from it, so no one can complain that it is to far to walk.
If it becomes a reality, it will be good economically, socially as well as for the environment.
- Genti, Putney, 10/10/2007 12:06
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What tosh! Most schools already have yellow lines and exclusion zones. This is just typical left-wing sniping and money wasting, all in the name of the environment.
- Nobby Clark, London, 10/10/2007 10:55
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Well done Camden - how I only wish that other councils would sit up and take note. The school run is full of those who think they know best, who can park anywhere and whose little Johnny absolutely coudn't walk because someone might look at them in the wrong way or they may get wet. I chose to live close to a school and the benefit to my child is immense but I have to put up with the parking disputes and road rage on a daily basis for 2 hours a day. The only ray of hope is our local council taking it seriously and removing cars whilst parent drops off little Johnny. Considering these parents are supposed to be educated and responsible they set a very poor example to future generations.
- K, Croydon, 10/10/2007 09:26
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Impossible to implement and probably open to legal challenge.
What defines school hours and drop off times? If it is set at 8.45am then parents will simply all try to drop off before that time and simply shift the congestion.
What is defined as school gate?
Once they are defined then I can see parents knocking holes in their perimeter fences 201m from the "main" gate.
Isn't congestion a part of city living, and as Londoners we must accept that as an older city, the potential for congestion is greater.
Whether it's horse and carts, petrol cars, electric cars, buses or taxi's there will always be congestion in London. Why do these idiots think that they can simply make it all go away with a committee and a set of ludicrous proposals?
- Ps, London, 09/10/2007 16:53
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The sanctimonious tones about carbon emissions and childhood obesity cannot disguise the fact that Camden Council is engaged in a despiccable and discriminatory campaign against private schools. First, it removes parking permits and when, as predicted, that does not reduce journeys requiring to be made, it comes up with an exclusion zone. Why? Not because of traffic, surely. The school run only affects traffic flows for very short periods in the day. Moreover, their contribution to global warming is tiny in the scheme of things. No, it's because they are centres of excellence and therefore a thorn in the flesh for Camden Council and its failing schools.
Camden Council is simply picking on a vulnerable group (children and working mums) because it can. Why is their journey less important or valuable than people going to work? Families often cannot use public transport because of the different ages and needs of their children. As for childhood obesity, I'm afraid I think you will find that, like healthy eating, it is largely a class issue in the UK and that rates are not high at private schools.
As a resident of Belsize Park, I moved here in the full knowledge that I would be living amongst lots of schools. I therefore have no right to complain about the school run - I see it as a necessary evil in order to ensure that people can choose the education they wish for their children. Imposing an exclusion zone will simply shift the problem to the edge. Mr Rowell, not in my name.
- Fiona Butcher, Belsize Park, London, 09/10/2007 14:36
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