📰 Ham&High: Election candidate takes aim at school streets plan

A general election candidate has hit out at “unworkable” proposed traffic restrictions outside two primary schools.

Camden Council has proposed a ‘Healthy School Streets’ scheme on streets around St Luke’s Church of England School and St Margaret’s School in Frognal. If implemented, most traffic would be barred from Kidderpore Avenue, Ferncroft Avenue and Kidderpore Gardens during school drop-off and pick-up times. The council says the measures are necessary to ensure children can get to and from school “safely and healthily”.

But Don Williams, who will stand as the Conservative candidate for the newly created Hampstead and Highgate constituency at the next election, has claimed the proposals will increase traffic “exponentially.” He told Ham and High that there is now the risk of “huge” traffic jams in surrounding roads not covered by restrictions. Calling for the planned scheme to be withdrawn, he said: “The proposed changes will make tradesmen reluctant to…[make] visits, taxis for travel will be unavailable at those times and carers’ visits will be impeded.”

If the scheme goes ahead, only vehicles registered to homes and businesses in the affected streets will be exempt, alongside parents with a Blue Badge and emergency services. The council has admitted that the proposed scheme, which would initially be trialled for 18 months, is larger than others like it. But it said data shows that traffic in the area is at some of its highest levels during school run times. 

In Kidderpore Avenue, there was a significant increase of more than 270 vehicles at school drop off times in the morning, and at more than 130 vehicles at pick-up times in the afternoon.

A council consultation on the proposals closed last Monday (March 18). A Camden Council spokesperson said: “All views and feedback received is being considered before a decision is made on whether to put the scheme in place on a trial basis.”

But Mr Williams, who is also a former Swiss Cottage councillor, claimed some residents have told him they did not receive consultation documents from the council. He said: “The whole process seemed to have been shambolic and not well thought out from start to finish.”

If implemented, the restrictions would be in place between 7.45am and 9am, and from 3pm to 4.15pm every weekday during school term times only.

The council says there are already 31 Healthy School Streets schemes in the borough, and that its aim is for all feasible schools to be covered by one by 2025.

Read original here on the Ham & High website