Safer School Streets trial – FAQs and next steps

THE Frome Safer School Streets scheme started on Monday 22nd April, after more than three years of consultation, planning and development in partnership with active travel charity Sustrans and Somerset Council.

The 18-month trial will run until autumn 2025, with a range of opportunities for residents to feed back about their experience of the trial in person and online.

Project officer Katie Fraser said, “Thank you to the many people who have shared their thoughts with our team on the streets since the trial began. We’d like to take the opportunity to share the answers to some of the most frequent questions we’ve heard. If you have a question we haven’t answered here, please do contact us at engage@frometowncouncil.gov.uk.

What are the yellow tarmac crossings and strips for?

The yellow tarmac at several junctions across the zones and the strips running the full width of the road denote a courtesy crossing. It isn’t a legal right of way for pedestrians, but the change in colour is shown to increase hazard perception for drivers and enable safer crossing. We’re planning further road safety sessions with the schools involved to make sure young people use them appropriately and we’re delighted to have already seen many instances of the new crossings being used carefully and considerately in the past two weeks.

The yellow tarmac strips in the middle of the road, called ‘median strips’ have likewise been shown to reduce speed, as they make the road appear narrower. They form part of other traffic-calming measures around the zones.

Which roads are closed and when?

An Experimental Traffic Restriction Order (ETRO) is in place for the 18-month trial. The road is closed from the junction of Broadway and Oakfield Road, up to the Oakfield Road/Nunney Road junction. The turning onto Nunney Road and Critch Hill is also closed, as is the whole of Whitemill Lane. This closure runs from 8.10am to 9am and 2.45pm to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday in term time. Park Road is closed from 8.25am to 8.55am and 3pm to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday in term time.

Who is exempt?

The following people are exempt from the timed closures: blue badge holders; parents/guardians of pupils with Education Health and Care plans (EHC); school staff; access to residential properties within the restricted zone; healthcare workers; users of Harry’s Hydrotherapy Pool; school and public transport; emergency services; postal services; utilities; highway maintenance; street cleansing and waste collection.

How will you monitor changes to road use?

We conducted a detailed traffic count before the trial began. We’ll repeat the count to ascertain if the scheme has been effective in reducing traffic overall and to gauge the impact of any traffic displacement on the streets around the zone.

Won’t it just force traffic elsewhere?

Frome’s Safer School Streets zone is one of a growing number in the UK and Europe. The data from many other zones suggests that they do not cause significant traffic displacement, once people adjust to them. Every town is different: the trial will show if this is the case in Frome.

How is it funded?

The design, construction and legal work is being funded by the Department for Transport, via our project partner Sustrans. FTC is paying for community engagement, evaluation and the maintenance of planters.

How can I feed back?

You can send us your thoughts and questions by email to engage@frometowncouncil.gov.uk, call 01373 465757 or pop into the town hall from 9am to 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday. As with the consultation process, there will be a mixture of public meetings, in a variety of venues across the town to ensure everyone in the community is included, and an online survey, to gather feedback on the trial.

For more information about the Frome Safer School Streets trial, visit https://bit.ly/safer-school-streets-24 . More about the UK’s network of Safer School Streets zones can be found at http://schoolstreets.org.uk/.