6 streets in Croydon could be closed during school drop-off and pick-up times

Six Croydon Street could close during busy drop-off and pick-up times if the council’s plans are approved. Among the streets listed is a side road off the busy Purley Way.

This round of possible closures comes as the latest addition to Croydon’s Healthy School Street (HSS) scheme, which aims to improve road safety and encourage children to use active forms of travel.

Read more: Motorists in Croydon were convicted of dangerous driving blue badge fraud last week as fines reached almost £1,000

Croydon Council announced yesterday (Wednesday 8 May) that it would like to hear from residents and motorists who use the roads around the schools in a public consultation which will end on 28 May. The schools considered are the following

• Applegarth Academy, Fieldway, CR0 9DL
• Beulah Road Children’s and Nursery, Furze Road, CR7 8NJ
• Harris Primary Academy Purley Way, Propeller Crescent, CR0 4FE
• John Wood School and Nursery, Dartnell Road, CR0 6JA
• Riddlesdown Collegiate, Honister Heights, CR8 1EX
• Rowdown Primary School, Calley Down Crescent, CR0 0EG

While some of the affected roads are far from traffic hotspots, others, such as the Harris Academy Purley Way site, are right next to some of the borough’s busiest thoroughfares.

The board began implementing pilot HSS in 2017. HSS limits traffic on surrounding roads to schools during school drop-off and pick-up times, making the roads safer for children and families.

The board says decisions to implement HSS are made when local stakeholders express an interest in limiting traffic in those school zones.

Those who live on the affected roads are eligible to apply for a free exemption permit, as well as those who may need to access the roads, including transporting children with special needs. Emergency services and garbage trucks are automatically exempt.

Drivers will be fined £130, or £65 if paid within 14 days, for entering the school roads at pick-up and drop-off times.

The council has already introduced 23 HSS across the borough and says those roads have seen a 15% – 25% reduction in cars since 2017.

The council reports: “One in five children starting primary school in Croydon is overweight or obese. By secondary school, this increases to one in three children.”

Noise reduction is another reason behind the move to more HSS. Council figures show school traffic makes up a quarter of all cars on the road and adds 254,000 vehicles a day in London alone.

While most HSSs have passed the consultation phase and have since become permanent, there have been notable exceptions following local backlash. One such example was Harris Academy Crystal Palace, where the scheme was abandoned following complaints from residents about flaws in the permit application system.

The council said further consultations could take place this summer if feedback from the current consultation is positive.

Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, said: “It is so important that we do everything we can to make journeys to school as safe as possible for our young Croydonians.

“We know that healthy school streets make streets safer for children and families and it’s great that these six schools have asked us to look at introducing them.

“Before we consider the proposals from Cabinet, we want to hear what people who live locally, schools and drivers who use the roads think about the proposed schemes, so if that’s you, I encourage you to take the survey and let us know say what you think.”

The consultation page can be found here.

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