School Streets Proposals 2024

Westminster School Streets

Welcome to the Westminster School Streets Commonplace site. The project and associated engagement is led by Westminster City Council.

School Streets provide Pedestrian and Cycle Zones outside a school’s main entrance, in operation in the morning and afternoon during school drop-off and collection times, Monday to Friday during term-time.

Our Active Streets programme is a key strategy commitment of our ActiveWestminster strategy – Activate Your City, Lives and Neighbourhoods. This strategy is in addition to our Open Spaces and Biodiversity strategy and consists of three types of Active Street:

• Play Street
• Street Play sessions
• School Street – the focus of this webpage

This website provides information about the changes to roads near your school, how it will be work, and how you can ‘have your say’.

These proposed School Streets are proposed to be installed under Experimental Traffic Orders to support continued feedback from our communities.

The Proposals

We are seeking views on proposed School Streets at several locations. A School Street is a special Pedestrian and Cycle Zone (PCZ) which is created outside a school’s main entrance during term-time. They operate in the morning and afternoon during school drop-off and collection times, Monday to Friday. Signage on the roads informs drivers of the times of operation at the entrances to the zone.

Vehicle movements are reduced during the operating times so that school children, their parents, carers and other visitors will have more space to walk, cycle or scoot.

A School Street aims to:

• Improve air quality by limiting the pollution from motor vehicles in the area
• create a safer and more pleasant environment by limiting the potential dangers caused by motor vehicles, and
• encourage more active travel, such as walking, cycling and scootering
• Improving road safety for school children, their parents, careers and other visitors
• reducing congestion outside the school
• improves the environment for local residents

Westminster City Council will propose to launch the School Streets using experimental traffic orders for a maximum period of 18 months, which means you can see how the scheme works and let us know how you think it is working. The views of residents and businesses, including any suggested changes to how the scheme operates, will be taken into account before any decision on whether or not to make the measure permanent.

The Trial School Streets

• St Barnabas CE Primary School (St Barnabas Street)
• Westbourne ward:
  • Edward Wilson Primary School (Senior Street) 
  • St Mary Magdalene and St Stephen’s CE Primary School extension of school street (Rowington Close)
  • Our Lady Dolour’s RC Primary School (Cirencester Street)
• St Vincent de Paul RC Primary School (Morpeth Terrace) 

Examples of School Streets in Westminster