Agenda item

Steven Austin, Traffic, Parking, Road Safety and School Travel Team Manager, introduced a report detailing the work of the Council’s School Travel and Road Safety (STARS) Team to foster a positive road safety climate, attitude and environment at the Borough’s schools.

The officer highlighted a number of key points, including that, according to an analysis of 2018 Collison data collated by the Department of Transport, Hillingdon’s roads were the safest in London. The data recorded 48 incidents for every hundred miles driven, compared to the London average of 166 incidents per 100 miles, which showed that Hillingdon roads were approximately 71% safer than the average London borough. This was testament to the work of the Council in supporting the Road Safety and Highways teams, with Hillingdon often cited as a benchmark for road safety by other local authorities. The team’s work had been recognized in both national transport and London transport awards, and Councillor Teji Barnes was the chairman of the London Road Safety Council, which was further evidence of the Council’s commitment to keeping Hillingdon roads safe for residents.

Members asked a number of questions, including:

Could the officer provide further detail on the number of serious accidents recorded in recent years?

For 2018, the number of police recorded incidents in Hillingdon was 918, which was down 8% on the previous year, in comparison to a London total of over 30,000. These figures covered all roads in Hillingdon, including the A40. Statistics showed that certain accidents, such as pedestrian, car and motorcycle accidents, were declining, though cycle collisions had increased. There were no emerging patterns regarding the collision data (e.g. hotspots, etc.), though the team could undertake further analysis.

Could Ward Councillors help encourage schools to engage more with the Council and take up the initiatives offered?

A list of schools that were not currently engaging could be provided to Members outside of the meeting, and officers would welcome any help available. The team could also look into putting together literature to aid Councillors when approaching schools.

Air quality in the Borough was a very important issue. Was it possible to put notices outside schools mandating ‘no idling’, and specifying fines, as seen at councils such as Kensington and Chelsea?

Colleagues in the corporate communications team were working with air quality and health officers on designing schemes to address air quality, especially around schools.

How did the team contact schools, and how were schools prioritised for contact?

Every school was contacted at the start of each school year, and offered a variety of initiatives and opportunities to work with the Council. This included the formation of a travel plan, which could result in a host of events that the school could run, including engineering measures, bikeability courses, pedestrian training, and mini and junior road safety officers. This work was then recognised through the Stars program, and the schools were then accredited by Transport for London. Unfortunately, some schools chose not to respond. Officers also worked with other groups, such as Brownies, Guides, Scouts, etc.

Did the school ‘keep clear’ scheme occur at all schools, or was it offered upon request? 

The CCTV enforcement of school ‘keep clear’ markings was rolled out to every school that had markings. Since then, changes to school layouts following school expansion programs had meant that some entrances had changed, so the team was now in the process of reviewing the markings to ensure they were fit for purpose. All school keep clear markings were enforced by CCTV.

Was bikeability and pedestrian training available to children who live in Hillingdon but do not attend Hillingdon schools?

Yes, the Council runs bikeability courses during the school holidays, which Hillingdon residents and children of Hillingdon residents are free to attend. These courses included opportunities for families to learn together. However, pedestrian training was school-specific, and included working with the school in question to make the routes to the school safer.

How many parents had signed up to the Parent Pledge?

This information could be provided following the meeting.

How were school crossing sites assessed for suitability?

Criteria was varied, and included a review of the number of people using the site, integration with the existing school travel plan, visibility, traffic flow etc.  Further detail on the criteria for assessment could be provided following the meeting.

What powers does the Council have to address parking around schools?

Issues with parking tended to be raised by residents of the local area. If an issue was highlighted, then officers would engage with the schools by way of the consultation process, which the Council must follow when introducing any parking restrictions. This often included an informal consultation with the school, local residents, and local businesses, and if there was support for managed parking then officers would progress to a formal consultation process, where schools were invited to comment before any action was taken.

Is there capacity to look ahead at potential issues that might affect schools, pupils and parents, for example parking and access issues around forthcoming new building developments?

Inevitably, most of the problems that residents who lived near schools faced were due to school traffic, which is why officers encouraged schools to work with the Council on identifying measures to address such issues. These could include introducing a walking bus, improvements to footways, new zebra crossings close to the school, etc.

Some Councillors have seen people, dressed similarly to school crossing patrol officers, who managed traffic flow and who prevented traffic using through-roads in order to safeguard pedestrians. Was this a Council or school led initiative?

It is likely that this was a school led initiative, though if the Councillor could provide further detail, this could be looked into. Separately, the Council was hoping to trial the option of having school streets closed to all traffic at certain times, via a barrier, which would be supported by a legal traffic order, and would enable prosecution of those who did not abide by the road closure.

The Hillingdon Association of Residents is particularly interested in air quality initiatives. Could officers provide more information concerning the school air quality projects that are listed on page 15 of the report that could be cascaded out to that association? 

This would need to be referred to colleagues in the air quality team.

Regarding the mini and Junior Road Safety officers, the report mentioned that the Council encourages pupils of ages 5 to 11 and 11 to 18 to work on campaigns and projects. Could the officer provide some examples of these projects?

Before CCTV cameras were in place at school keep clear markings, mini and junior road safety officers would be out on the road, putting  pressure on those motorists that ignored the parking restrictions and keep clear markings. This proved to be very effective in encouraging motorists to think about the safety of young people outside schools. In addition, pupils created banners to be displayed outside the school, and recently, pupils from St. Helen's School took part in a junior road safety watch where they stood on Long Lane with colleagues in the police force, conducting speed monitoring using handheld speed radar guns. As a result, some drivers were stopped by the police and spoken to.

Other areas of London have timed crossing displays at junctions, which display how long pedestrians have to cross the road.  Were these available in Hillingdon?

Hillingdon does have several sites where countdown signals are installed, though if there were any additional sites that Members would like to see timers installed at, these could be put forward to Transport for London for review.

It was agreed that officers would draft a letter of thanks to the Council’s long standing and hardworking school crossing patrol officers on behalf of the Committee, thanking them for their efforts and years of service.

RESOLVED: 

1.    That the report be noted;

2.    That a list of schools that were not currently engaging with Council initiatives  be provided to Members;

3.    That the transport team design and distribute literature to aid Councillors when approaching schools;

4.    That detail on the number of parents  signed up to the Parent Pledge be forwarded to Members;

5.    That thecriteria for assessment of potential school crossing sites could be forwarded to Members;

6.    That colleagues in the Council’s Air Quality team be requested to provide information concerning the school air quality projects to the Committee; and

7.    That officers draft a letter of thanks to the Council’s school crossing patrol officers on behalf of the Committee.