Aim is to take cars off the roads during the morning rush

Whilst some parents remain unmoved by threats from their child's head teacher to name and shame them for their thoughtless driving, other motorists and pedestrians will be heartened by the news that four out of five of the borough's primary schools now have plans in place to reduce the number of journeys made to school by car.

The end of March saw a further 22 schools complete their plans, giving the borough one of the highest levels of travel plans across the capital.

School Travel Plans (STPs) look at all the problems caused by travel to and from schools during the day, and then put together a package of solutions to help reduce the negative effects of this daily flow of pupils, staff and parents

Cllr Barbara Reid, Executive Member for Environment and Planning at Hounslow Council, said, “Studies have shown that around one car in five on the road in the morning is on the school run. This is bad for the children, bad for the environment and bad for residents. As well as getting cars off the roads, travel plans help make sure children learn how to travel safely, reduce levels of traffic pollution and schools can get a grant of up to £10,000 towards local improvements. Walking to school is also great exercise for both children and parents - and it’s free. Children who walk or cycle to school are more alert and ready to learn than if they were driven, so leaving the car at home has wider benefits than you might think.”

Following one near miss too many, St Mary's School in Chiswick joined forces with neighbouring William Hogarth School to implement their own school travel plan which included inviting officers from their Safer Neighbourhood Teams to witness the issues and help resolve them. A new walking bus scheme, led by parent volunteers from St Mary's, is set to start in the summer term.

April 20, 2007