Fenland school among nine looking to close roads at start and end of school day

A Fenland school is one of nine across the county that have applied to introduce road closures around their entrances during the peak times at the start and end of the school day.

Wisbech St Mary Primary School want to introduce a temporary road closure from Monday (7) when pupils return to after the lockdown and the summer break.

It means Church Road and Churchfield Way will be closed, term time only, between 8.30am and 9.30am and 2.45pm and 3.30pm Monday to Friday.

The alternative route for vehicles is via High Road – The Jetty – Church Road and vice versa and access will be maintained for properties affected by the order.

The move is to support social distancing and members of the public had until tomorrow (Wednesday) to have their say on the proposals.

Schools across Cambridgeshire were offered the chance to introduce closures around their entrances as part of a wider scheme of network changes from Cambridgeshire County Council in response to the pandemic.

The county council said that so far nine schools in Cambridgeshire have completed risk assessments and are training volunteers to introduce the measures.

The road closures outside schools aims to create a zone for pedestrians, bikes and scooters at the beginning and end of the school day.

The scheme is being set up as part of the government’s push to encourage social distancing and more active travel during the pandemic.

To implement each temporary closure, volunteers will put up barriers or signage, which the councils said are “likely to be around 50 metres either side of the entrance depending on the location and social distancing challenges of the site”.

Access will be maintained for emergency vehicles, while essential vehicles, residents and deliveries will be marshalled through the site.

The closure will be set up and taken down by a member of the school community each day, and will apply only while the signs and barriers are out, so will not affect weekends and school holidays.

The changes are being enforced by a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order, which will run from the start of term this month until the end of the summer term in July 2021.