School Streets part of vision for a joined-up network

The roll-out of School Streets across Greater Manchester will complement wider plans to create an environment where active modes become attractive, safe and enabled, writes Richard Nickson

 Public transport and active travel routes and services across Greater Manchester are undergoing a dramatic transformation as the Bee Network takes shape. This is the region’s vision for a joined-up travel network which works for everyone, making it easier to get around by bus, tram, train, walking, wheeling or cycling.

Active travel infrastructure, in particular, is the ‘glue’ binding the network together, enabling people to walk, wheel, cycle and safely use other active modes whilst making seamless connected longer journeys by public transit modes. 

Trips to/from school by children, young people and their parents and carers have a significant impact on local congestion at certain times of the day near school gates and surrounding roads. This, in turn, affects air quality, modal choice, safety and risk of collision and injury. Developing sustainable travel behaviours in our children and young people is vital if they are to move on to being independent public and active travel users.

Last year Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham set out his ambition to achieve 100 School Streets by 2028. This challenging target builds on our successful delivery of a pilot programme for School Streets that has seen more than 30 permanent and experimental schemes developed. 

A permanent School Street effectively restricts motor vehicle traffic along certain roads at critical periods of the school day. The introduction of civil enforcement powers for moving traffic offences in Greater Manchester means that the use of ANPR cameras could complement physical management of access.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is now developing its future School Streets sub-programme as part of a wider School Travel Programme. This includes both School Streets and tackling missing or poor standards of crossings in the immediate vicinity of schools. 

In addition, Greater Manchester is committed to scaling back its routine use of specialist transport services such as school buses and is instead aiming to encourage and enable use of franchised scheduled services. Since Greater Manchester fully took back control over its bus services at the start of this year, we have seen considerable patronage growth.

Greater Manchester has also adopted a Vision Zero Strategy, which seeks to apply a safe systems approach resulting in road danger reduction particularly for vulnerable road users. This, combined with our wider network plans, will develop an environment where active modes become attractive, safe and enabled.

Richard Nickson is Network Director Active Travel at Transport for Greater Manchester.

Find out more about new and existing schemes in Greater Manchester at School Streets North