Valley Road Primary School

 

When Valley Road Primary School in Henley started work on producing a travel plan in 2006 its objective was to promote healthier, safer and more environmentally friendly ways of travelling to the school for the 200 pupils, plus teachers and other staff.

 

Specifically they wanted to:

• Increase the number of children walking and cycling to school, thus reducing congestion around the immediate area.
• Improve the safety of children walking and cycling to school.

They discovered that 74.9 per cent of their pupils lived within comfortable walking distance and 84.7 per cent within easy cycling distance. Yet nearly half of all parents drove their children to school and 79 per cent parked in Valley Road itself. Only eight per cent did car share, although 44 per cent said they would consider sharing.

 

Peak times of congestion were between 8.30 am and 9.00 am and then again between 3.00 pm and 3.45 pm.

 

The main issue preventing children from walking was concern about the safety of crossing Greys Road, a road that is normally busy carrying traffic into Henley town centre. Although there is a 30 mph limit on this road a speed indicator test showed that the actual speed of vehicles using it was 40 mph. There was no designated safe crossing point.

 

Many parents said they would be willing to allow their children to cycle if certain measures were put into place. These included a safer route, proficiency training and the provision of cycle sheds. (Seventeen per cent said they would not let their children cycle).

 

As a result of the survey and the information it generated the school’s travel plan sought the following measures:

 

• A safe crossing point and traffic calming measures on Greys Road
• Wider, and therefore safer, pavements
• “Authorised only” parking signs at the entrance to the narrow and difficult school drive
• A system to ensure parents did not wrongly park on “keep clear” zig zag lines
• Designated cycle routes and cycle sheds
• A safety crossing officer.

 

Whilst not all of these have yet been implemented school head Tim Coulson said “we have made a great deal of progress and parents and children have become much more aware of the need to think about travel arrangements.”