School Street Zone (SS57) at Lubavitch Boys’ Primary School - Proposal Consultation

Overview

We’re committed to creating a greener, healthier Hackney. That means cutting traffic emissions, improving air quality, and helping local people to live active and healthy lives. As part of that commitment, we have developed a proposal to implement a School Street zone SS57 at Lubavitch Boys’ Primary School. The Council is seeking views from you as part of the consultation phase on the proposed School Street expansion.

School Streets are schemes where the road(s) outside a school are closed to most vehicles during school opening and closing times, helping children and parents walk and cycle to school safely, and improving air quality at the school gates. More information about the Hackney School Streets programme can be found on our website at https://hackney.gov.uk/school-streets.

Why we are proposing a School Street zone at Lubavitch Boys’ Primary School

44 of Hackney’s state primary schools have a School Street, which helps to reduce pollution, increase safety for children and encourage and assist more children to travel to school by active and sustainable modes. Lubavitch Boys’ Primary School is one of the few left that does not have this protection. 

Darenth Road is a busy thoroughfare, with 120-160 vehicles observed driving past the school per hour at peak times. Most of these are through-traffic and do not stop on Darenth Road. A School Street would reduce this number and create a safer place for children to arrive at and leave from each school day. 

How the School Street works

Location

The road under consideration for the School Street pedestrian and cycle zone at Lubavitch Boys’ Primary School is Darenth Road. There would be a traffic filter on the one-way Darenth Road from the junction with Portland Avenue. The zone would be designated SS57. 

Timed Restrictions

Vehicles would not be able to drive into the School Street expansion zone between 8:00-9:00am and 3:30-4:30pm, Monday to Friday, unless they have been granted an exemption from that zone. School Street zones do not operate on weekends or during school holidays.

The timing of School Street zones is designed to be kept to a minimum, to avoid disruption, while covering the peak times of children traveling to and from school. 

Enforcement

The School Street would be indicated by timed Pedestrian and Cycle Zone signs at each entry point (see drawing below). It is a traffic offence for non-exempt vehicles to enter the School Street zone during the operational times, and infractions can carry a penalty charge issued by a CCTV camera.

See the drawing below for a visual representation of the proposed restrictions.

How exemptions are allocated

• Vehicles that are registered to a residential or business address within the proposed School Street Zone (SS57) would be eligible to apply for resident vehicle exemption from the proposed School Street pedestrian and cycle zone restrictions on Darenth Road. 

• Any vehicle already inside a School Street zone when it comes into operation is permitted to leave the zone at any time without incurring a penalty. 

• Vehicles driven by residents living outside of a School Street zone, parents and carers dropping off or collecting children at the school, school staff, friends, tradespeople, delivery vehicles, and any other non-exempt vehicles will not be permitted to enter the street during the School Streets operational times.

• The Council also offers conditional exemptions to school transport providers, as well as to Shomrim, Hatzola, and other local services alongside the emergency services.

• Special exemptions are considered on a case-by-case basis, and are available for Blue Badge holders and carers who need access to a property inside any School Street zone. For more information on how to apply for an exemption and about how exemptions are allocated, please visit hackney.gov.uk/school-streets.

What happens next

The views of residents and businesses, including any suggested changes to how the scheme operates, will be taken into account before any decision is made on the scheme zone extent, the exemptions list, and ultimately the entire scheme. Your feedback will be taken into consideration alongside traffic and travel-related evidence.

The results will be available at hackney.gov.uk/school-streets.

Additional information

For more information and answers to frequently asked questions about School Streets, please visit: hackney.gov.uk/school-streets.

Have your say

Please complete the following consultation survey by the closing date above to have your say.