The chamber’s plan was agreed for Coventry’s “school streets”, the first scheme to become permanent

A scheme banning cars from using Coventry’s school roads during rush hour has been made permanent. The move, brought to court last year, aims to resolve school traffic issues at Knights Templar Way and two cul-de-sacs.

It means that only local residents are allowed to drive on these streets at pick-up and school times. The ‘school street’ scheme is one of many across the UK and the first to be trialled in Coventry.

An ANPR camera will also be installed to monitor the restrictions after evidence that many drivers are not following the rules. It could be used to enforce the scheme, resulting in a £70 fine for drivers caught, but this depends on monitoring and would need a six-week consultation, a report said.

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A local councilor praised the “wonderful work” of council officers and said it was “long overdue” at a meeting to agree the measures yesterday, June 17. But Cllr Marcus Lapsa (Con, Westwood) added that he wanted immediate enforcement because of the evidence that had been gathered since April.

“I think that’s the only way we’re going to get compliance,” he said. Cllr Lapsa highlighted problems with people not following the scheme.

He said: “This has been a process for the city and it has not been as successful as it should have been from day one due to a lack of policing and resources, which is not the fault of council officers.” The meeting documents acknowledged that police were unable to visit the area regularly and relied mainly on “self-enforcement”.

But Cllr Lapsa added: “I know the residents will be absolutely over the moon about it.” Cabinet member Cllr Patricia Hetherton (Lab, Radford), who made the decision, said: “The cameras will make a huge difference here.

“The most important thing is to keep our children safe. We all know how we felt this weekend with what went wrong.”

A further four school streets are due to open in Coventry in September. These areas will also receive monitoring with ANPR cameras and possibly law enforcement, Cllr Hetherton agreed, thanks to lessons learned from the Knights Templar scheme.

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