This year it will be easier and safer for pupils to walk or cycle to school after Hammersmith & Council introduced pioneering new infrastructure changes.
H&F has introduced a range of measures, some in response to the COVID-19 crisis and some pre-planned, to help those who move about the borough without a car.
Schemes which include expanding pavement space and reducing polluting cars near the school gates will help tackle the pandemic, the climate crisis and improve safety.
“The COVID-19 crisis has acted as a catalyst in bringing forward several of the schemes we’d already planned to improve life for pedestrians and cyclists,” said Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Environment.
“We’ve acted fast to install a range of new measures, many of which will mean school children will be far safer when navigating the borough by bike or on foot.”
Reallocated spaces
In our town centres, road space has been reallocated so that pedestrians and cyclists can feel safer visiting shops and essential services, or just passing through. The wider pavements will have more space for social distancing.
Fully segregated cycle lanes have also been introduced along King Street, Hammersmith Road and around the gyratory in Hammersmith, as well as on Uxbridge Road and alongside Shepherds Bush Green. These protect riders by keeping them separated from motor vehicles.
Car-free school runs
All of H&F’s schools have travel plans which encourage active, sustainable travel like walking, cycling and scooting.
The council has also been working closely with 13 schools across the borough explore the possibility of introducing new School Streets this September. These schemes stop cars from using roads immediately outside the school during the peak drop-off and pick-up times.
The schools involved are:
Fulham
- Holy Cross Primary School
- Queen's Manor School and Special Needs Unit
- Sir John Lillie Primary School
Hammersmith
- Brackenbury Primary School
- Earl's Court Free School Primary
- Ecole Francaise de Londres Jacques Prevert
- Melcombe Primary School
- St Paul’s Primary School
- St Peter's Primary School
- West London Free School Primary
Shepherds Bush
- Miles Coverdale Primary School
- St Stephen's Primary School
- Wendell Park Primary School
Safer and easier
School Streets will also help improve local air quality why stopping idling engines from being close to the school gates and reduce congestion on roads at peak times.
This will make it both safer and more appealing for students to walk or cycle to school. To help with this, the council will also be delivering cycle training sessions for adults and school children from September.
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