School safety zone (SSZ) evaluation survey

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Purpose	School safety zones have been piloted outside a number of primary schools across the county. They aim to create a safer environment around school for pedestrians and cyclists by asking motorists to limit their speed to 20mph during school start and finish times. The survey was undertaken to help evaluate the success of the project and find out how journeys have been affected.
Subject	Road safety
Commissioned by	School travel

Geographic area	All of Lancashire
Method	Questionnaire - postal
Consultation with	Parents/carers
Date	21/06/2006 - 01/08/2006
Undertaken by	Corporate Research and Intelligence Team, Policy Unit

Results

Number of responses	744
Key findings	Parents favour vehicles as the method of getting their children to and from school. Most children cross the road within the SSZ. Particular concerns for parents about their child's school journey were parking problems that in many cases caused other drivers to drive on the pavements, the speed of traffic, busy roads and roads which are difficult to cross, and problems with footpaths being narrow and obstructed or there not being any footpaths. The SSZ hasn't greatly influenced the way children get to and from school. This is partly because car use is a wider problem, for example parents may drop their children off on their way to work and will require a behavioural change. Around half of respondents thought that the SSZ had reduced speeds and made their child's journey safer. Perceptions of speed and safety are linked - where parents think speeds have significantly reduced they are more likely to think that their child's journey is safer. The findings suggest that parents perceive that the SSZ hasn't had a long-term effect on the speed of traffic travelling through the zone. However, nine in ten parents thought that the SSZ was a worthwhile initiative for Lancashire County Council.

Number of responses

744

Key findings

Parents favour vehicles as the method of getting their children to and from school. Most children cross the road within the SSZ.

Particular concerns for parents about their child's school journey were parking problems that in many cases caused other drivers to drive on the pavements, the speed of traffic, busy roads and roads which are difficult to cross, and problems with footpaths being narrow and obstructed or there not being any footpaths.

The SSZ hasn't greatly influenced the way children get to and from school. This is partly because car use is a wider problem, for example parents may drop their children off on their way to work and will require a behavioural change.

Around half of respondents thought that the SSZ had reduced speeds and made their child's journey safer. Perceptions of speed and safety are linked - where parents think speeds have significantly reduced they are more likely to think that their child's journey is safer.

The findings suggest that parents perceive that the SSZ hasn't had a long-term effect on the speed of traffic travelling through the zone. However, nine in ten parents thought that the SSZ was a worthwhile initiative for Lancashire County Council.

Project document(s)

Report(s)

School safety zone report

Questionnaire(s)

School safety zone questionnaire

Contact information

For more information about this research contact:

Rebecca Robinson
01772 537787
rebecca.robinson@lancashire.gov.uk

Mick Edwardson
01772 530290
mick.edwardson@lancashire.gov.uk

Email: haveyoursay@lancashire.gov.uk