Ealing Council has set an ambitious and exciting challenge to have 50 School Streets by 2026. Schools are prioritised based on a selection criterion that includes the following categories:
- Road safety – casualties
- Air Quality
- Index of Multiple Deprivation
- STARS engagement
- Active travel
- Location suitability
(A School Street is where streets around a school are closed to the majority of traffic at school opening and closing times).
Hup Initiatives have been commissioned by the council to lead on the production of Evaluation Reports (pre-implementation) for future ‘School Streets projects’, as well as the production of Monitoring Reports for each School Street implemented, approximately 1 year after delivery.
An Evaluation Report outlines and displays results from three provided data sets; TfL ‘STARS’ school travel surveys, a ‘Give My View’ survey of the local / school community, and an official Traffic Management Order (TMO) consultation in regards to the proposed highway access changes. The Monitoring Reports utilise similar information, with the addition of post-implementation Parking Beat & Traffic Count data.
Analysis of the Travel survey data forms the main bulk of the report. The purpose of the Survey being to distinguish between various groups such as Pupils, Staff, Parents, Residents and Businesses who will be impacted by the School Street.
Questions in the survey seek to understand the respondents’ views on various aspects of the current situation and establish levels of support for the scheme. The survey states the scheme’s aims and responses are made on wider concerns through the use of multiple-choice answers or a sliding scale relating to how strongly the respondent feels.
Additionally, respondents are given the opportunity to provide further ‘free text’ comments on the proposals. All comments are read and coded by Hup Initiatives to provide further numerical analysis as well as key findings and suggestions based on the school and local community’s feedback.
The completed Evaluation and Monitoring reports include:
- Overview of the scheme
- Survey Results – analysis of all data
- Key findings
- Recommendations i.e. Evaluation Report – whether to move forward with the implementation of a school street and Implementation Report – whether to retain or remove a School Street following a min of 1 year in operation.
