Healthy School Streets consultation - Primrose Hill Primary School Permanent Proposals

Overview

Overview

Proposals to make the trial Healthy School Street changes to Princess 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 Healthy School Street schemes have been rolled out across Camden since March 2020, including Primrose Hill Primary School on Princess Road. This brings the total number of schemes in the borough to 21, covering 27 schools. These schools are covered by timed or permanent road closures.

About the Primrose Hill Primary School Healthy School Street scheme

The Primrose Hill Primary School Healthy School Street scheme consists of a timed road closure on Princess Road outside Primrose Hill Primary 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 8.30am - 9.30am and 3pm - 4pm Monday to Friday during school term time only.

We implemented the scheme 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 ETO (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 Primrose Hill Primary School Healthy School Street 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 in terms of the motor vehicle restrictions. However, we are also proposing to introduce wider pavements, cycle parking and some planting outside the school to provide more space for pedestrians to walk and congregate.

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 the consultation front page. Headlines include:

• Traffic monitoring taken before and after the implementation of the scheme during the morning and afternoon restrictions showed a small increase in traffic levels following the implementation of the scheme, but traffic levels remain low on Princess Road. Collection of traffic data was impacted by Covid-19 lockdowns and is explained in more detail in the Monitoring Report.
• Analysis of average speed data shows that traffic speeds are low on Princess Road and below the 20mph speed limit.
• Cycle count data shows increases in cycling following the implementation of the scheme of 13 cycles in the morning restrictions and 6 cycles in the afternoon restrictions.
• Air quality monitoring completed during 2020 shows that Princess Road complied with the National Air Quality Objective mean annual NO₂ 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 the consultation front page.

The Primrose Hill Primary School Healthy School Street scheme consists of a timed road closure for motor vehicles on Princess Road outside Primrose Hill Primary School. This is enforced using signage and an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera at the junction of Princess Road and Gloucester Avenue and at the junction of Princess Road and Chalcot Road. The traffic restrictions are in place between 8.30am - 9.30am 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 Princess 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 the us.

Based on the overall positive traffic data during the times of the restrictions, air quality data, and feedback received from residents and stakeholders during the trial period, we are now consulting on making the scheme permanent.

We also want to capture your views on a proposal to replace the wooden planters on Princess Road at the junction with Chalcot Road with permanent pavement buildouts on either side of the road and increase the width of the footway outside the school. These would make it easier for pedestrians to cross the road while helping to reduce vehicle speeds. The widened pavement outside the school entrance would also provide additional space for parents and carers to congregate when dropping off and picking up children. The widened pavement would also offer opportunities for planting which would improve the aesthetics of the street while providing benefits to the environment.

In summary, the changes include:

• Building out the pavement at the junction with Chalcot Road and adding a raised table. This would narrow the junction to make it easier for pedestrians to cross and help to reduce traffic speeds.
• Removing two resident parking spaces – one from Princess Road and one from Chalcot Road in order to facilitate the above change to the junction.
• Building out the pavement by 2m from the junction of Chalcot Road to outside the school entrance to provide more space for parents and children at school drop off/pick up times.
• Installing cycle parking outside the school.
• Planting two new trees, one on the newly widened pavement and the other outside the school.

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 (ETO) 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 the consultation front page.

We would 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.