Nov 16 2008
Travel Plan
Following our recent questionnaires, here is a summary of our travel plan as it stands at the moment. There is still some work to do on it, but the main concerns that were identified are outlined at the end.
We have not had any news yet on the possibility of a Metrobus serving our school
There will be meetings for parents to discuss the plan and our next steps before the end of term – dates to follow.
You can comment on the plan using the comments tool at the bottom of this page
Travel Plan
Lidget Green Primary School and Children’s Centre is a large 2.5 form entry primary school on the edge of the inner city accommodating up to 465 pupils (to become 525 in the next two years) aged between 5 and 11 years. The school also has a 39 full time equivalent place nursery and a children’s centre providing daycare and education for 40 children from 0 to 4 years. The school is about 30 years old and has doubled in size over the last 10 years .
Lidget Green Primary School is situated on Birks Fold, a small road off Cemetery Road in Lidget Green, which is part of the Bradford outer ring road.
Birks Fold itself provides a route into Scholemoor Cemetery and to a small housing estate. It is sometimes used for funerals but more often for visitors to the Cemetery and can become very busy. The main pedestrian entrance to the school, the car park and a further pedestrian entrance, used by the majority of children and parents are all on Birks Fold. There are two further pedestrian entrances from a second housing estate, on the opposite side of the school from Birks Fold. One is accessed by footpaths and the other is at the end of Exley Mount, a small cul-de-sac on the housing estate. Exley Mount is also the location of the entrance to our Children’s Centre crèche facilities (situated in the former caretaker’s house).
The school is surrounded by the cemetery on one side, housing on two sides and industrial / warehouse buildings across the road on the fourth side. Although Cemetery Road is part of the ring road, it is part of only one bus route, the circular 680 route which has recently been altered to run only once an hour. Buses coming to and from the city centre are a 10 minute walk away up a fairly steep hill.
Children come to school from a number of different areas: the housing estate next to the school, a housing estate on the other side of the cemetery (Scholemoor), terraced housing on the other side of Cemetery Road and from terraced housing at the top of Lidget Green, on the other side of Cemetery Road and across Legrams Lane.
The school day starts at 9 a.m. but there is breakfast club provision from 8 a.m which is attended by between 40 and 50 children on average. The last admission to the Breakfast Club is at 8.30; children come to school in fairly small numbers from 8-8.30 am but most arrive between 8.45 and 9am and this causes considerable difficulties where they are brought by car because of the size of Birks Fold and the parking restrictions around the school. The situation tends to be even more difficult in the afternoon; school finishes at 3.15pm but most parents arrive to collect children from about 3.00. There is an after school care club until 6pm and a range of activities until 4.15 or 4.30pm; around 40-50 children attend these clubs.
Most children walk to school, although a significant minority come to school by car either regularly or occasionally. No children come by bus or cycle, although some have expressed a wish to do so. Many children walk through the cemetery; others walk down Cemetery Road or Northsaide Terrace, a quieter road that runs parallel. There is a pelican crossing near the junction with Birks Fold which is manned by a school crossing officer at peak times.
Two children who use wheelchairs are brought and collected by a specialist minibus; one other child is brought by escorted transport and a further three families use the disabled parking facility for their children with SEN.
Car parking within the school grounds is at a premium and as the number of staff at the school increases, this is becoming more of a problem. Some staff park on the unrestricted area of Birks Fold. Parents dropping their children off also park on Birks Fold, often illegally on the zigzag or double yellow lines. Some parents park in the housing estate on the other side of the school where there is a small cul-de-sac with a footpath to the school, causing problems at the beginning and end of the school day for residents and for children who use this route to go home. There is also a small problem with parents and others using the car park entrance to turn around. Parents and visitors are permitted to use the cemetery car park and a few parents do this.
As the daycare facility and the number of classes offered to parents increase in the Children’s Centre, there will be more traffic along Birks Fold and in the school car park, with parents who live and work a distance away from school using the daycare centre (which has 2 dedicated drop off spaces in the car park) and other parents coming for classes or appointments, often with very young children. In addition, professionals providing services at the centre usually come by car at various times during the day.
Recent consultation with parents has shown that many are concerned about the dangers to their children from cars using Birks Fold. Other parents feel that pressure of time or bringing large families to school means that they prefer to use the car.
A previous attempt to introduce a walking bus was unsuccessful because of the several different routes that children use and parents being concerned about their children walking to school with people they didn’t know.
A new Parents Forum, initiated by the Children’s Centre team has highlighted the concerns of some parents who wish to take action to tackle the problem of traffic on Birks Fold. We are also investigating having separate meetings for parents from each area in the hope of them making arrangements among themselves to walk children to school in groups.
Summary of the main concerns about children travelling to school:
Walking
Many parents believe the area is unsafe for children to walk to school. In questionnaires and at our Parents Forum they have said:
The amount of traffic on Birks Fold is dangerous and, particularly, cars parked on the zigzag lines near the entrances to the school or on double yellow lines which exacerbates the situation since this is a narrow road.
Parents using the car park opening or Exley Mount to drop children off or to turn around make the area dangerous
Children crossing Birks Fold near to the junction with Cemetery Road is dangerous. A particular concern is the speed with which drivers sometimes come around the corner, turning onto Birks Fold. The kerb is lowered for crossing only a few yards from this junction.
The volume of traffic on Cemetery Road is too high
There are inadequate parking facilities in the school grounds which necessitates the use of Birks Fold for parking.
There is a concern about stranger danger particularly coming through the cemetery and on the ‘snickets’ near school,
Parents have some concerns about walking to and from school due to poor footpaths in the area.
Cycling
Local roads are very busy, particularly at the start and end of the school day
No cycle lanes to make it safer.
Cars
Parents have to park on Birks Fold which is not suitable; there is a lack of legal parking due to staff parking.
Roads are very busy.
Bus
Adults and children are one discouraged from using buses due to unsuitable times, and having to catch more than bus per journey.
