Agenda item

This report presents background information on home to school travel planning in York. It sets out the policy background for home to school travel and presents the current approach and resources provided for this function in York. It then lays out the options available to local authorities and asks Members for their views on the extent to which the various instruments available should be used in York.

The committee considered a report setting out the current approach to home to school travel in York and inviting members’ views on options available to make journeys safer, increase active travel, and reduce congestion and air pollution around school sites.

Officers provided an overview, and in response to members’ questions it was noted that:

·       Options included a programme of data collection, promotion of sustainable transport, enacting School Streets schemes and capital measures, although funding would need to be found for this work. These were used in conjunction by some local authorities and in other European countries where there was more active travel.

·       At present there was a light programme of school engagement although levels varied and were often dependent on there being a staff member with an interest in active travel. Granular data collection would provide information from all schools on the interventions they would appreciate; currently only partial information was available from individual schools.

·       There were no current plans to bring back mobile camera vans. If ANPR equipment was installed as part of a School Streets scheme there was a six-month period before enforcement was permitted; fines could potentially cover the cost of investment but this would be case specific. Traffic enforcement was by consent and care would be needed in the introduction of any fines.

·       School travel plans in place under section 106 agreements were monitored through Planning; it was suspected that those done outside these agreements would have lapsed. Funding for a Sustrans school travel plan officer had expired in 2021. Bikeability training was offered in every school, if not always taken up by all pupils.

·       Where schools had a wider catchment where car sharing was appropriate this option could be promoted although school-specific information was needed.

·       Several members emphasised the need to focus on successfully delivering a small number of tangible, practical schemes. The Executive Member for Transport noted that she would welcome members’ views on what should be prioritised and deprioritised within transport budgets and suggested that a task and finish group might consider this once there was greater clarity around funding.

·       Members agreed that school travel should be a priority, and noted that while prioritising the smaller number of secondary schools could be more efficient than concentrating on the larger number of primary schools, working closely with the latter could help ingrain active travel habits earlier in childhood.

·       A review of capital projects would be undertaken to remove those which were not matched to funding, this would entail difficult choices but would help deliver a several schemes more quickly. This process would be informed by the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan. Funding would then be pursued, and feasibility work would need to be done carefully. An anticipated structural shift in ways of working would see a move away from issues being raised and added to a longlist, to evidence-based thresholds for action akin to the system used in highway maintenance.

·       With reference to spreading journeys across the day, traffic peaks were settling after being quite dynamic over the last few years; York was unusual in having a morning peak of 7am-8am, rather than 8am-9am, which suggested this was pre-school traffic, whereas the school afternoon peak was now often higher than the traditionally evening commute peak.

·       The current transport funding landscape was uncertain, although there had been successes on bidding for funds for specific kinds of projects such as bus electrification. Multi-year funding settlements would ease some challenges. The Mayoral Combined Authority was a possible source of funding, and it was anticipated that Mayoral transport powers would be expanded in forthcoming legislation, and work was already being done with the Combined Authority on projects including EV charging.

Resolved:

                i.                    To encourage the Executive Member and officers to prioritise the successful delivery of a smaller number of tangible and timely schemes.

              ii.                    To encourage data gathering from individual schools to understand what they wanted and inform a longer-term view.

             iii.                    That it was the committee’s view that school travel should be a priority, both in the developing transport plan and in bids for funding.

            iv.                    That the committee would support an approach for a strategic bid for Mayoral Combined Authority funding taking in both capital and revenue aspects.

Reason:     To support the ambition of making travel to school safer, increasing active travel, and reducing congestion and air pollution around school sites across York.