Healthy School Streets Consultation - Minster Road Healthy School Street Permanent Proposals

Overview

Overview

Proposals to make the trial Healthy School Street changes to Minster Road permanent

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how people in Camden live, travel and work. Since the start of the pandemic many of us have been spending more time closer to home, making our neighbourhoods more important than ever. We want our streets to be safe spaces for you to walk and cycle, for children to get to and from school safely and healthily, for businesses to be able to flourish and for you to be breathing cleaner air. We want to ensure that our streets support recovery from the pandemic and provide a lasting legacy of greener, safer, healthier travel, helping us to deliver our wide Transport Strategy objectives.

As 69% of households in Camden do not own a car and public transport usage remains much lower than before the pandemic, we know that safe and easy walking, cycling, and scooting routes are more important than ever. Supporting and encouraging those who can walk and cycle, by creating safer streets will ensure that there is more space available on public transport and on our roads for those who need it the most.

To help respond to the transport challenges on our streets caused by the pandemic, and in line with our Camden Transport Strategy and Climate Action Plan, we have been making changes across Camden as part of our Safe and Healthy Streets Programme.

Healthy School Streets create a safer and healthier environment by temporarily closing roads to motor traffic outside schools during drop-off and pick-up times. This enables more children to walk, cycle or scoot to school, with less air pollution, road danger, congestion, and more space for people to interact. The schemes help to discourage car trips, particularly amongst parents and carers, by providing a safe and inviting space for more walking, cycling, and scooting.

Fifteen schemes have been rolled out across Camden since March 2020, including Minster Road. This brings the total number of Healthy School Street schemes in the borough to 21, covering 27 schools. These schools are covered by timed or permanent road closures.

About the Minster Road Healthy School Street scheme

The Minster Road Healthy School Street consists of a timed road closure on Minster Road outside Mulberry House School. The closure for motor vehicles is in place for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to coincide with the opening and closing times of the school, from 8am - 9am and 3pm - 4pm Monday to Friday during school term time only.

We implemented the Minster Road Healthy School Street as a trial in September 2020, under an Experimental Traffic Order which came into force on 3 September 2020, as part of Phase 2 of our Healthy School Streets Programme. The decision report related to this Experimental Traffic Order (and others) was approved on 5^th June 2020 and is provided in the Related section at the bottom of this page.

This decision report noted that a further consultation, after approximately 12 months of the trial scheme, would take place relating to any proposed permanent changes. The trial scheme went live in September 2020 and during this period, the scheme has been monitored and comments from local residents and stakeholders have been received.

This consultation now asks local residents and stakeholders to give their views on whether the scheme should be made permanent after the end of the 18-month trial period. The proposed permanent scheme would remain unchanged from its trial version.

Monitoring information

During the trial period of the scheme, we have been collecting monitoring data which can be viewed in detail in the monitoring factsheet provided in the Related section at the bottom of this page. Headlines include:

• Traffic counts taken when the scheme signage was unveiled, but cameras not operational, show that the section of Minster Road with Healthy School Street restrictions experienced an average of 311 fewer vehicles in the morning school drop off time and 275 fewer vehicles in the afternoon school pick up time compared to the section of Minster Road surveyed without restrictions (although this section of Minster Road receives traffic from Fordwych Road and Westbere Road). This is explored in further detail in the monitoring factsheet. We will carry out further traffic counts to help us measure the impact of the scheme on this road which will be analysed as part of the process to decide whether to make the scheme permanent.
• Analysis of average traffic speed data showed speeds were low and all roads surveyed complied with the 20mph speed limit.

What we are now consulting on?

Based on the monitoring data and the feedback received from residents and stakeholders during the trial period, and in line with policies and objectives set out in our Transport Strategy, Climate Action Plan and Clean Air Action Plan, we are now consulting on making the trial changes permanent.

You can view the drawing of the changes in the Related section at the bottom of this page.

The Minster Road Healthy School Street scheme consists of a timed road closure for motor vehicles on Minster Road outside Mulberry House School. This is enforced using signage and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at the junction of Minster Road and Shoot-Up Hill as well as at the junction of Minster Road and Fordwych Road. The traffic restrictions are in place between 8am - 9am and 3pm - 4pm Monday to Friday during school term time only.

The following vehicles are exempt from the restrictions:

• Cycles including standard and electric powered bicycles
• Vehicles registered to properties and businesses on Minster Road, where exemptions have been agreed with us
• Any vehicle being used for ambulance, fire brigade or policing purposes
• Refuse collection vehicles
• Blue Disabled Badge holders, where exemptions have been agreed with us
• Vehicles belonging to parents or carers of pupils of the school that have a disability that prevents them from walking, cycling, or scooting to school, where exemptions have been agreed with us

We are now consulting on making the Minster Road Healthy School Street scheme permanent. The proposed permanent scheme would remain unchanged from its trial version.

Why your views matter

Why your views matter

As 40% of households in the area do not have access to a car and public transport patronage levels remain lower than before the pandemic, we know that safe and easy walking, cycling, and scooting routes are more important than ever. Supporting and encouraging those who are able to walk and cycle, by creating safer streets will ensure that there is more space available on public transport and on our roads for those who need it the most.

The previous changes were implemented as a trial under an Experimental Traffic Order for 18 months. We committed to undertaking a public consultation after around 12 months of the trial scheme to seek the views of local residents and stakeholders on making the trial scheme permanent after the 18-month trial period.

Your views are important in providing feedback both on the proposed scheme as a whole and elements of it, and we would therefore welcome your responses on the pages that follow. To view the plans and find out more about the proposals, click on the links in the Related section at the bottom of this page.

The Council will be pleased to hear your views on the proposals as well as any alternative suggestions or objections you may have to any aspect of what we are proposing.

What happens next?

After the consultation, a decision report will be produced and published online via our website. Local residents and stakeholders will be notified of the outcome. The report will consider a broad range of information including consultation responses, feedback received during the trial period, relevant policies and other data/information including monitoring information collected during the trial period.

All of this information will be considered in making a recommendation in the report about whether, at the end of the trial period, the experimental scheme should be made permanent, modified, or allowed to lapse.

What happens next

 As the consultation is now closed,your views, and those of everyone who contributes to this consultation, will be analysed and considered, alongside relevant data available on the scheme and in light of how the scheme aligns with our current policy objectives, in order to put forward recommendations on whether to proceed with the proposals. A summary of this analysis will be provided in the decision report, and will be made available on the Camden Council website in due course.

If you have any other ideas for improvements to make travel safer and healthier in this area, please go to Safe Travel Camden Map  to make some suggestions.