A Green Councillor has called for traffic cameras on school streets to help keep children safe.
Gleadless Valley Councillor, Marieanne Elliot has helped with the School Streets initiative as a parent volunteer since it first started in Sheffield in 2021. Marieanne asked when traffic cameras are coming, as in other parts of the country.
Cllr Elliot said,
“Establishing School Streets around a number of Sheffield schools has been a good initiative with many positive benefits. In some areas, its success has relied heavily on parents and local residents who have volunteered their time. The volunteers help to make sure that people are aware of the traffic restrictions at drop-off and pick-up times. They are doing a fantastic job in sometimes challenging situations. Despite being clearly signed and legally backed by a traffic regulation order, in some cases, the restrictions are being ignored, which puts the volunteers in a very difficult position.”
“New traffic management legislation now makes it possible for councils to enforce ‘moving traffic’ offences using cameras. I think that this approach could be used on the School Streets to support our amazing volunteers and help keep children safe on their journeys to and from school.”
“I raised this at a recent full council meeting, calling for the use of traffic cameras, where needed. This would make the initiative more effective. Other Councils, such as Oldham and the London Borough of Ealing are already using Automatic Number Plate recognition on their School Streets. Leicester have recently decided to get cameras too. I hope that Sheffield will follow and make our School Streets even safer.”
