UPDATE ON THE SCHOOL TRAVEL PLAN
I would like to thank those of you who returned our Travel questionnaire in the summer term. The comments that you made have been a great help to us in shaping our Travel Plan. The issues and concerns you have raised were analysed in detail and discussed with the SCC Travel Plan Adviser, many of them have been put forward to be tackled over the coming year.
Summary of Parent Questionnaire:
Number of Results: 96 out of 255 families answered:
84% of children living less than 1 mile from school walk to school
66% of those parents who drive their children to school go on to work
68% of those living more than 1 mile come in the car
84% of walkers/cyclists would like safety improvements on the route to school
77% of parent comments on the Elms Car park noted the need for a foot path onto New Road
71% of parent comments on New Road, noted the need for a crossing over New Road
54% stated that speed and volume of traffic causes danger on their route to school
23% stated inconsiderate/illegal parking of other parents causes danger on their route to school
The main concerns centre on the roads close to the school:
College Road
Busy in rush hour, speeding traffic
Dangerous to cross from Mount Pleasant
Buses stop outside school causing congestion and danger when crossing as visibility is poor
Narrow paths causing concern when many large lorries / buses go past pedestrians
Vyces Road
Buses stop here causing congestion and danger when crossing as visibility is poor
Cars use wide opening of road as turning circle causing danger when crossing as visibility is poor
Parents stop on yellow lines to drop off children
Children cross at wide mouth of junction where it is dangerous
New Road
No road crossing
Cars park or drop off pupils on yellow lines – causing danger as visibility is reduced and road blocked
Cars drop off in school entrance / use as turning circle causing danger to pedestrians
Fast traffic from out of town as there are no ‘School’ warning sign in place
Elms Car Park
No footpath leaving car park onto New Road – pedestrians have to walk in road
Glass in road from Bottle Banks & Recycling Lorries sometimes arrive at drop off / collection time
Car park often full leaving no near drop off point for school
Other Roads
Love Lane – steep slope directly onto College Road – danger in icy weather
Bridge Street – no road crossing, poor visibility (esp around public buses)
Well Close Square – dangerous to cross 4 roads onto mini roundabout – no safe place to get across
Brook Lane – no footpaths, narrow roads, speeding traffic (esp High School pupils)
The main concerns of families living on the outskirts or out of Framlingham are:
the narrow country lanes with no paths and speeding traffic make walking and cycling difficult.
longer distances mean cars are the only mode of transport if they are not on bus route
Other individual comments included:
cost of school buses
not being on bus route
a rain shelter in the playground for drop off / collection
the need for a pushchair ramp from College Road.
the Crossing patrol outside school entrance does an excellent job.
As you can see there are a lot of very valid points here. We are taking steps to involve SCC Highways, SCDC Car Parks and Recycling along with the local Community Police officer and SCC Road Safety Officers in action plans that we hope will resolve many of these concerns.
The survey highlighted that parents feel their child’s safety is the 2nd most important factor in decision they make about how they travel (Distance was the 1st most important factor). To this end in addition to all the efforts we will be putting in to make the environment safer, we are also intending to bring Road Safety training into the curriculum. With the help of the SCC ‘Roadsafe’ team we will endeavour to give children both the knowledge and the practical skills needed to keep safe.
We would hope that in being able to resolve these many concerns many more parents will chose to take the more sustainable and healthier choice of walking to school whenever possible.
In summary the Objectives of our travel plan are:
Make children aware of and give them the skills required for Road Safety
Create a safer pedestrian environment for the large % of pupils who walk and provide additional safety where feasible in Framlingham and catchment area
Encourage more parents and children to walk all year and promote the benefits of walking / cycling.
Thank you again for all your input; we aim to keep you regularly informed of our progress.
