Parents of kids at a Stockport school where streets are now being closed at drop-off and pick-up times say they strongly support the idea. Starting this week, streets around a select group of primary schools will be shut to through traffic and those parking to drop off or collect their kids in the car as part of a new trial.
Town hall bosses said they hoped the move would make the areas around schools safer and help encourage more families to ditch the car for the school run and walk, cycle or use a scooter to ride into school instead.
The initiative sparked strong debate on the Manchester Evening News website and Facebook page when first reported yesterday (Tuesday).
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Some said they believed it could pose issues to parents dropping off kids on their way to work or those with children at more than one school.
However, the M.E.N visited one of the schools included in the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) trial, St Matthew's CofE Primary in Edgeley, on Wednesday morning. All parents and local residents we spoke to said they believed it was long overdue.
"It was an absolute joke before," Samantha Plant said. "Because of the roads and how they are it was chaos. It's only being going a couple of days I know but it's already made a massive difference.
"For the kids especially. It's made them so much safer coming to school. My child suffers from anxiety and I think it's calmed him down a lot. So I hope it carries on."
"I think it's a good idea," Chris Ormiston, 38, said after dropping his son off at the school. "It's incredibly busy around here and people don't always stick to the zig-zags and the lines when they do park.
"I only live around the corner and my street is actually one they are closing. And I have already found it way better from that point of view as well. Trying to get out in the car in the morning if you need to go somewhere can be a nightmare. I've generally tried to avoid it but the last few days it's been much less busy."
I think it's amazing" said 31 year-old mum Hannah Taylor. "My daughter is nine and she can ride her bike to school. Before people were parking everywhere and I didn't feel safe letting her do it. It's just a lot safer. I hope they bring it in permanently."
Kirsty Ashton, 29, said: "I think it's about time. It's all about safety for the kids. It's been a problem for a long time, cars speeding past and the parking. Trying to get your children across the road safely was virtually unmanageable."
Anna Hopkins, 41, said: "I think it will help. I used to live on Derby Street (which faces the school) so I understand the issues with parking. We have actually just moved now and I have to bring the car but I just park about five minutes away and walk over.
"As I say I don't mind doing that. It's much better for the kids. It's definitely easier to cross the road without having to do it from between the parked cars."
Howie Marmion, 42, who has two kids at the school said: "Making it safer can only be a good thing. I don't think anyone adheres to the zig-zags. We've had police around here quite often warning people about parking.
"And I know people who live round here moan about it as well. It's only for a short time they close them so I don't think it's a problem. And as you can see it hasn't caused any congestion or anything, it's not absolutely chocka on other streets. So I think it's sensible."
Sections of three streets around the school, Bulkley Street, Bowdon Street, and Lucy Street are now being closed other than for approved vehicles between 8:30am and 9am in the morning and 3pm and 3:30pm in the afternoon.
Road closure signs and cones are used to block the roads with each closure point manned by either a school staff member of a volunteer wearing a hi-vis jacket.
Only residents and essential workers such as health and care workers with permits, blue badge holders and emergency vehicles are allowed through.
Experimental Traffic Orders have been put in place to enforce the new closures during the trials with council parking wardens seen in the area around the school on Wednesday.
Paul Stoddard, 48, whose son attends the school, is a volunteer manning one of the closures and said he was one of the first to put himself forward after learning of the trial.
"The amount of cars we got round here is crazy" he said. "And I believe this will reduce the amount of cars clogging up the streets and make it much, much safer for the kids.
"There are a lot of parents who won't think it's good idea. But surely there's plenty of other streets they can park on and they will only have to walk for two minutes. How can you complain if it's for kids' safety.
"If we were blocking every single road I could see the problem but it's a very small area really. I think it will drastically reduce accidents. I believe there have been accidents at other schools. We haven't had one her yet thankfully but hopefully this will mean we don't. "
He added he had so far had no complaints whilst manning closure points. "No one has even got out of their cars" he said. "They have just seen the closure sign and drove on so yeah everyone has been great."
However, some others said they believed it didn't go far enough. Local resident Fiona Christopher, 59, said she believed the scheme doesn't go far enough.
"All of this is lovely, but we need more. It's good as I did witness an accident here many years ago where a car hit a child in a wheelchair. At the time I wrote to the council and asked about a residents only parking scheme. As it's not just the school, we have lots of cars parking here for the station as well as it's so close.
"It's great that this protects the children. But this is just a small bit of it. And at the moment I think all this will do is move the problem elsewhere and we need to be mindful of residents as well. So I think we need a scheme for the whole area."
The other schools taking part in the trial, which initially last under the summer holidays, are Our Lady’s Primary, a short distance from St Matthew's in Edgeley, Adswood Primary, Cheadle Primary, Bradshaw Hall Primary in Cheadle Hulme, St Joseph’s Primary in the town centre and St Mary’s Primary in Reddish.
Stockport Council said all the schools had volunteered to take part due as they had "identified issues with parked cars and want to provide a safer environment, with improved air quality, and increase the daily level of physical activity with their pupils and promote more social interaction."
St Matthew's headteacher Stephen Murphy told the M.E.N: "We just want to make it a safer route to school for our pupils and try to encourage a bit more walking and cycling. It has been well received so far and the sun's been shining which has also helped."
Announcing the start of the trial, Coun Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Parks and Leisure Services said: “The safety of children travelling to and from school is of paramount importance to Stockport Council.
“We believe this project is one that will help to address safety concerns outside the schools taking part and create a calmer environment where people can feel confident cycling, scooting or walking, and improve air quality by reducing congestion around school gates.
“Many families in Stockport have already made changes to the way they travel, including on the journey to school, and this project will enable even more people to adopt healthier and more active ways of travelling.”
