Six West Midlands schools set for new road safety measures

Six Birmingham schools are set for new safety measures amid a mission to ensure no one is killed or seriously injured on the city’s roads.

The city council is proposing a number of changes through the Safer School Journeys programme, described as a city-wide initiative to make streets around schools “safer, healthier and more welcoming”.

Funded through the Clean Air Zone, it offers dedicated support to help schools identify and address road safety concerns, improve air quality, and encourage more walking, wheeling, and cycling.

A number of schools have been selected for new measures including:

• Colebourne Primary School in Hodgehill
• Harborne Primary School Annex
• Broadmeadow Junior School in Kings Norton
• The Olive School in Tyseley
• Ninestiles, an Academy in Acocks Green
• Alston Primary School in Bordesley Green East

The council says this programme is aligned with the city’s Road Harm Reduction Strategy, which was adopted last year and reaffirmed its promise to deliver Vision Zero in Birmingham.

Vision Zero is a commitment to work towards a road network in Birmingham where no one is killed or seriously injured.

The council has previously said that it is “not inevitable nor acceptable that anyone should be killed or seriously injured when travelling around Birmingham”.

“We should all be able to travel safely and confidently to get to where we need to go,” it added.

The Safer School Journeys programme also supports the vision for Kids Streets across the West Midlands, an initiative backed by West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker.

This particular vision is about reducing the potential for road harm, managing speeds, protecting pavements and creating places where children can “move, play, and connect with confidence”.

Road safety commissioner Mat MacDonald and active travel commissioner Beccy Marston said previously: “The mayor has been clear that safer and healthier streets are essential to building a fairer and more prosperous West Midlands.

“This Vision for Kids Streets responds directly to that challenge.

“It sets out a shared ambition to design our streets through the eyes of children, recognising that when streets work for children, they work better for everyone.”

The proposed measures include:

Colebourne Primary School:

• Narrowing junctions at Southbourne Avenue and Westbourne Avenue, including raised table crossings to slow vehicles
• Installing a pedestrian refuge island at the junction with Beaufort Avenue
• Speed cushions along Stechford Road to reduce vehicle speeds
• Bollards and double kerbing to stop parking on pavements

Harborne Primary School Annex

• No waiting restrictions (double yellow lines) along a section of Court Oak Road
• Junction narrowing at Wood Lane/Fellows Lane and Earls Court Road to slow vehicles and make it easier and safer for people to cross the road
• A new crossing point on Court Oak Road with a pedestrian refuge island
• A re-located westbound bus stop away from the school entrance

Broadmeadow Junior School

• No waiting (at any time) restrictions along sections of Monyhull Hall Road and Broadmeadow Lane with targeted ‘No Loading’ restrictions at school peak times
• No waiting restrictions (double yellow lines) at top of Walkers Heath Road
• A relocated eastbound bus stop away from the school entrance on Bells Lane and removal of layby area
• Bollards or planters to stop parking on pavements and access points

The Olive School 

• Raising the zebra crossing on Reddings Lane
• Installing a pedestrian refuge island at the junction with Weston Lane
• Bollards and double kerbing to stop parking on pavements and grass verges
• Cycle lane separators on Battery Way to provide greater protection

Ninestiles, an Academy

• A one-way on Hartfield Crescent (from Fox Hollies Road to Greenwood Avenue) to improve access and safety
• Speed humps to reduce traffic speed
• Junction narrowing at both ends of the road, including raised crossings to slow vehicles and make it easier and safer for people to cross the road
• No waiting restrictions (double yellow lines) to improve access and safety

Alston Primary School 

• A one-way on Repton Road (from Belchers Lane to Kenwood Road) to improve access and safety
• Raised crossing points to improve safety for people walking and wheeling
• Speed humps to reduce traffic speeds
• Junction narrowing to slow vehicles and improve visibility

The full proposed measures can be found on the Birmingham Be Heard website here, where public consultations are being held until July 24.