Camera enforcement around School Streets may cover more areas
Proposals to use cameras to help make the journey to and from school safer for children could be extended to more locations.
Consultation is now open on using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera technology to restrict traffic at key times around five more schools across Wirral.
It follows the successful roll out of the camera at Greenleas Primary School in Wallasey and would support permanent School Streets schemes at:
- Raeburn Primary School
- St George's Primary School
- Christ Church CE Primary School
- Liscard Primary School
- St Alban's Primary School
A School Street is a stretch of road outside a school that is temporarily closed to traffic during school drop-off and pick-up times. This limits traffic in the road outside the school at key times, creates a mainly car free zone and encourages walking and wheeling on the journey to and from school as only pedestrians, cyclists or motorists with an exemption (such as a resident or someone working in the area) are able to access the School Street during these times.
All roads that are contained within the new proposals are indicated on the map for each School Street area, which can be viewed by following this link and clicking on the name of the school you are interested in.
The camera technology is being put forward as it has been successfully used to help further reduce the number of vehicles unnecessarily accessing the area around Greenleas Primary School, which in November 2021 became the first School Street trial in Wirral.
This consultation is not seeking comments on whether the council should use these powers but is asking for local knowledge or any concerns that people may have about the introduction of the camera technology in the areas proposed.
The cameras will be installed when and if funding becomes available so could be at some further point in the future. Gathering local knowledge and feedback now gives the school and the council time to prepare and to work with the surrounding communities to get this right.
This technology has been really successful at Greenleas, ensuring children are able to get to and from school safely. Now we are keen to get people’s comments about the proposals to roll this out at our other current School Streets and hopefully creating a safer, calmer and more environmentally friendly atmosphere for families at the start and end of the school day.
The consultation is open for comments from 16 June until 28 July. Visit the council’s Have Your Say page for more details and to complete the consultation survey at Moving Traffic Enforcement | Have your say Wirral
