Richmond Council gives thumbs-up to UK’s first School Street entry treatment

We have approved the roll-out of an eye-catching new School Streets treatment designed to create a safer environment for pupils around schools and to reduce the number of drivers entering the area.

Following a successful trial using colourful 'pencil bollards' and 'dragon’s teeth' to signal the start of a School Street, we will roll out these road designs across the 17 School Streets across the borough, improving visibility, compliance and safety. 

Councillor Alexander Ehmann, Chair of the Transport and Air Quality Services Committee, said: 

“School Streets are there to make the area around our schools safer for vulnerable young road-users. It also makes the space one where all pedestrians are ‘top-dog’ and we know that this encourages walking and wheeling to school too.” 

School Streets have been a resounding success, but we hear that some drivers still miss the statutory signage and inadvertently enter these safe spaces. This Council no more wants those drivers in School Streets than the drivers want the fines for being in these roads. We know from our trial that installation of Richmond's treatments has resulted in fewer drivers entering School Streets and that is the result we were hoping for. Our desire has always been to make these spaces as safe as possible, which means reducing the fines issued in them. That is why the Council has invested time and resource in a design that helps drivers to know the special nature of the street ahead. 

Cllr Ehmann added: 

“This first-of-its-kind treatment has attracted a lot of interest from other Councils around the country and Richmond hopes that what began in our borough may yet become the template that other councils will follow.” 

The enhanced gateway design includes a 5m deep red resin bound surface across the carriageway at each of the School Street entrances. There are also four white triangular ‘dragon’s teeth’ along the kerb edge on the red surface with three pencil bollards on either side. 

The treatment has been trialled at St. John the Baptist Primary School in Hampton Wick where there was observed to be higher than average levels of non-compliance. The enhanced gateway treatment has led to a significant reduction in Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) in the area. 
  
Find out more about School Streets in Richmond upon Thames.