Parents banned from roads near Cadland Primary School in Holbury at drop-off and pick-up times

PARENTS were be banned from dropping off their children outside a Holbury school this week under a pilot scheme to tackle traffic congestion and safety.

Cadland Primary School was one of three selected for Hampshire County Council's School Streets trial, which will involve roads being closed off to parents during drop-off and pick-up.

The hope is that parents will walk or cycle their children to school, with affected roads remaining open to residents, emergency services, blue badge holders, deliveries and businesses.

Cllr Alexis McEvoy put the school forward for the initiative having been made aware of ongoing problems there.

She said the head teacher had been trying for years to engage with parents over the issue, to no avail.

"They have tried to persuade them not to block up the streets and to walk the children in if they are not too far away," she said. "It comes to the point where you have to say enough is enough.

"The situation has been that parents are trying to jockey for position to park, and I have even seen parents stopping and letting their kids out onto the main road.

"The other issue is the inconvenience for those who live there, and the health implications of exhaust fumes, particularly for the little ones.

"No doubt there will be some complaints. Parents will say they are in a hurry, but they will just have to leave earlier.

"There is also the option to car share or form a walking school bus."

The project starts on the first day of term on Thursday, with temporary road barriers operated by trained stewards from the school and local community from 8.15am-9am and 2.30pm-3.30pm.

Surveys will be undertaken to measure the impact, which will inform decisions over future permanent School Streets schemes.

HCC's cabinet member for highways operations, Cllr Russell Oppenheimer, said: "The benefits of doing this could be fantastic, both in terms of improving the physical and mental wellbeing of young people and parents and reducing traffic which, in turn, improves air quality.

“I encourage all parents to support the pilot as far as possible by enabling children to walk or cycle to school instead of travelling by car. I’d also ask motorists to respect the road closures and allow extra time for their journeys.”

Foxhills Infant and Junior schools in Ashurst, which have been lobbying HCC for years for traffic improvements after a number of accidents involving cars, made it onto a shortlist of six but were not selected for the pilot.

To give feedback, email saferplaces@hants.gov.uk

For information about the scheme, go to myjourneyhampshire.com/hants-school-streets