School Street scheme - Print version

School Street schemes

School Street schemes limit the amount of motor traffic in streets surrounding schools for a short time at the start and end of the school day as well as making it easier to walk, cycle or wheel to school.

School Streets aim to reduce congestion and improve air quality in and around school gates and make the streets outside schools safer at the start and end of the school day. These measures can also help to address traffic and parking pressures and problems people living close to a school can experience due to school gate parking.

Currently, we try to reduce the impact of inappropriate parking by enforcing waiting restrictions and ‘School-Keep-Clear’ markings. Feedback from residents and communities has highlighted that these traditional measures are not always effective and we are looking at new ways of addressing the issues.

Issues associated with school traffic are not unique to Coventry, and over the last few years, School Streets have been rolled out at various locations across the country as an innovative way to address issues associated with school traffic and parking.

School Street locations

Current School Street locations

• Templars Primary School - View a map of the zone [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/41896/templars-primary-school-streets]

This was Coventry’s first School Street and it was introduced in February 2023 as an experimental traffic regulation order.

An evaluation of the first 12 months of the scheme is currently underway and will be used to inform whether the scheme is made permanent, amended, or revoked.

Proposed School Street locations

• Cardinal Wiseman School -View a map of the zone and sign locations [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/41895/cardinal-wiseman-school-streets]
• Ravensdale Primary School - View a map of the zone and sign locations [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/41886/ravensdale-school-street]
• Stanton Bridge Primary School - View a map of the zone and sign locations [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/41887/southfield-primary-school-street]
• Southfields Primary School - View a map of the zone and sign locations [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/41887/southfield-primary-school-street]

These are proposed to be launched from the start of the new school year in September 2024. These will be introduced as an experimental traffic regulation order initially and will benefit both from the learning that has taken place following the introduction of the Knights Templar School Streets Scheme as well as changes in legislation which has improved how the restrictions that underpin a School Street operates and are managed outside of London.

Future School Street locations

If you think that your school would benefit from being part of a future phase (2025/26) of our School Streets scheme please ask the school to contact us at trafficmanagement@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:trafficmanagement@coventry.gov.uk] to register their interest.  

School Street restrictions

The restrictions operate Monday to Friday year-round and mean that most vehicles, including those driven by parents and carers at the schools where the restrictions are enforced will not be able to drive into the roads covered by the restrictions to drop off or pick up children during the periods that the restriction is in force. Parents who drive are asked to park nearby and walk the last part of their journey.

There are various exemptions to the restriction that permit certain traffic to use the roads during the period that the restriction is in force. These are intended to minimise the impact of the restriction on residents living within the zones and to support those with specific needs.

If you live on the streets affected, you will need to display a valid permit in your vehicle to drive on the roads and at the times listed.

There won't be any physical barriers, however prominent gateway signage will be in place at the entrance and exit of the School Street areas, displaying the times the restriction is in force.

Every day, including school holidays, between the times shown below, no vehicles will be able to drive in or out of the School Streets zone unless they have a valid permit.

School Street enforcement

Driving in the zone during the times that the restriction is in force will be an offence. West Midlands Police can take action relating to anyone caught driving in the zone without a permit when the restriction is in place and issue a fixed penalty fine.

Changes in legislation now allow the use of enforcement cameras to monitor School Streets. Over the coming months, opportunities to transition to a new camera-based enforcement system will be explored.

The transition to an enforcement camera system must be demand and evidence-led and requires the introduction and use of a virtual electronic permit system. It does however offer the potential to significantly aid the effectiveness of School Streets schemes and may help to meet the objectives of reducing traffic in and around the school gates and encouraging active forms of travel to school.

School Street permits

If you live on the streets affected, you will need to apply for and be granted a valid permit for your vehicle to drive through the zones during the restriction times.

How to get a permit

All residents living in the streets listed above will need to apply for a permit. Currently, the Council operates a paper-based permit system where a maximum of three permits per household and three additional visitor permits can be applied for per house.

Visitors are generally asked to arrive outside the time the restriction is operating or to park outside the zone (and move once the restriction ends).

As part of the recent changes in legislation we are exploring opportunities to enable us to issue virtual permits which will make it easier for residents to apply and be issued permits and aid the operation and enforcement of the scheme. Further details on the new system will be made available on this web page over the coming months.

Schools will also be provided with a limited number of permits to allocate to staff and visitors who park on-site and need to access the school during the restriction periods.

School Street vehicle exemptions

We recognise that certain vehicles must continue to have access to the streets covered by the restriction.

Exemptions will apply to:

• any vehicle displaying a valid School Streets permit
• Council vehicles and statutory undertakers
• emergency services, doctors on call, district nurses, carers and support workers
• school buses and school transport serving the school
• public transport