School Streets: St James’s Catholic Primary School

Overview

*Update 22/05: Proposed operational hours corrected on penultimate page.

A School Street is where a road with a school temporarily closes to reduce vehicular traffic during the school's opening and closing times, to enhance the safety of school children.

There are many benefits of School Streets including keeping the area outside the school gates free of congestion, encouraging active travel to school, creating a pleasant and calm atmosphere at the start and end of the school day, reducing idling vehicles and potentially improving air quality, and, of course, improving road safety.

Following requests from residents, the Council is proposing to introduce a School Street trial at St James’s Primary School and is first seeking your views. A map of the proposal can be found below along with frequently asked questions relating to this specific proposal.

This proposal includes a timed road closure on Stanley Road between South Road and Hampton Road (including Queen Anne’s Close and Golfside) Monday to Friday 8.00am to 9.00am and 2.00pm to 4.00pm term time only. The consultation gives an opportunity to comment on the proposed operational hours.

In addition to the proposal for a School Street, the Council is considering additional road safety improvements for the area. The school has a second entrance on Wellesley Road and traffic volumes at peak school times along this road (and Tower Road) currently trigger the Councils intervention level for traffic calming. As a result, a package of measures is being considered. This includes changes to the existing traffic calming features in accordance with current standards and improved crossing facilities. This intends to raise awareness of the school frontage through improved signage and road markings.

Measures being considered also include cycle access improvements at the existing signalised crossing junction of Stanley Road with Hampton Road, as well as pedestrian refuge and signage improvements at Stanley Road junction with South Road.

As part of this consultation, you will also be able to give early comments on these engineering proposals prior to a detailed package of measures being consulted on. At this early stage of the process, a schematic drawing, showing feasible locations for improvements is included for reference.

School Streets are in response to requests from schools and or residents along with the success of the 15 existing School Streets that are permanent in the borough.

Further information about other School Street schemes and their drawings can be viewed on the School Street pages of our website. If you have a question about the School Streets scheme generally, you may find the answer in our School Streets FAQ's.

Have your say

The local ward Councillors and the Cabinet Member of the Transport and Air Quality Services Committee support the consultation.

The Council is keen to hear the views of local residents, the school community and businesses. The consultation for this School Street is due to commence on 22 May 2024 and feedback can be submitted via the 'Online survey' link below.

The consultation closes on 30 June 2024 and the Council will review and consider both the feedback received on the various options up for consultation along with monitoring traffic count data of the area and a travel to school survey undertaken by the school before making a decision whether to trial a scheme.

If you require a paper copy of the survey or a different language/format, please contact schoolstreets@richmond.gov.uk with 'St James’s School Streets' in the subject line or call (020) 8891 7823.