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Should we ban cars from schools? What our councils think of school exclusion zones

Councils are watching the school exclusion zone pilot with interest
Councils are watching the school exclusion zone pilot with interest

School exclusion zones are a direct way of keeping the roads around schools safe when pupils are arriving and leaving.

Moray Council are part of a pilot project to effectively ban cars from the schools gates by creating these zones.

And now, north and north-east councils are keeping a close eye on the trial with the possibility of doing the same.

In the Highlands, council chiefs are considering their own pilot.

Angus Council is also already running a pilot at three of its schools.

The areas are made car-free in the mornings and afternoons to improve safety for pupils and to encourage youngsters to walk or cycle to school.

Moray Council began trialling the School Streets scheme at New Elgin and Seafield primaries at the end of March and the pilot will run for nine months while Angus Council’s will operate for 18 months.

Paige and Kenya McIntyre scoot to New Elgin primary school in Moray.

Local authority bosses in Moray have also received backing for the move from charity Living Streets Scotland.

Now Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Highlands have said the school exclusion zones trial is something they will observe before potentially launching their own schemes.

Councillor Sandra Macdonald, Aberdeen City Council’s transport spokeswoman said: “Aberdeen City Council are a partner with Angus Council  on the Northern Roads Collaboration Group.

“Officers from the group will continue to work together on assessing whether this trial along with others in Scotland are working before considering them further.”

Children and parents outside New Elgin primary.

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “Traffic management measures in areas surrounding schools is something Aberdeenshire Council has considered and researched previously and while we have introduced a variety of measures, we have not progressed a project where traffic is wholly excluded from school areas.

“We will continue to monitor with interest similar projects across Scotland.”

A Highland Council spokesman said: “Highland Council are considering the possibility of running a School Streets trial – the details of how this will look are in development.”

In the meantime, Highland Council this week approved a Safer Routes to Schools project for a pair of road humps at St Joseph’s Primary in Inverness.

The scheme aims to increase the number of pupils using sustainable transport for their school journey, and ensure their safety in doing so.

The road humps has been designed to reduce vehicle speeds on King Street at a bend in the road where visibility is reduced due to a high wall.