School Streets Scheme

This year, we have been working with Oldham Council to encourage and enable our children to become more active on the school run. We recently did a hands-up survey, and this has shown 70% of our children are being brought to school by car. Together with Hey with Zion Primary School, this amounts to an average of 293 drivers visiting our area twice a day in term time, even though, over half of our children live in less than a 1-mile radius from school.

To give more of our families the chance to walk to school and to stay safe on the school journey, we are pleased to inform you that we will start a School Streets Pilot on Wednesday 4th September 2024, on Medlock Way, just after the entrance to the Grapes Pub car park. For your convenience, there is a plan of the School Street proposals attached to this letter.

‘School Streets’ proposals aim to enable children and parents to walk, cycle or wheel (eg scooting) to school, in order to reduce air pollution, congestion and make the area around our schools a much safer environment for everybody.

A School Street is a road, or section of road, that becomes closed to vehicular traffic during school drop-off and pick-up times. Motorised vehicles are not permitted to enter or leave the School Street during the operating times unless they have been granted an exemption.

This trial will be the first of its kind within Greater Manchester, as it is proposed to enforce the school street with an ANPR camera (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). Residents within the School Street and people with Blue Badges will be exempt, as well as the emergency services.

More information can be found at https://www.oldham.gov.uk/school-streets