London Borough of Lewisham
Sustainable Mode of Travel Strategy for Schools
First Review August 2010
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1.0Introduction
1.1 Background Information
1.2 What Is Sustainable Travel?
1.3 Why is Sustainable Travel for Schools Important to Lewisham?
1.4 The Aim and Objectives of the Strategy
2.0 Assessment of Pupil’s Travel and Transport Needs
2.1 Pupils’ Travel Patterns
2.2 Comparison between Primary and Secondary Schools
2.3 Pupils’ Travel Preferences
2.4 Summary of Pupil’s Travel Needs
3.0 Lewisham’s Sustainable Travel and Transport Infrastructure
3. 1 Strategy to Develop Walking Infrastructure
3.2 Strategy to Develop Cycling Infrastructure
3.3 Strategy to Develop Public Transport Infrastructure
3.4 Safer Routes to School
4.0 Promotion of Sustainable School Travel in Lewisham
4.1 Walking Promotion Initiatives
4.2 Cycling Promotion Initiatives
4.3 Car Based Promotion Initiatives
4.4 Public Transport Promotion Initiatives
4.5 Awareness Raising, Training and Education/Attitudinal Initiatives
5 School Travel Plans
6.0 Delivery, Monitoring and Evaluation of Targets and Strategy Review
6.1 Evaluation of Targets
6.2 Monitoring and Strategy Review
Executive Summary
This is the first review of Lewisham Sustainable Modes of Transport Strategy (SMOT).The review looks at how well we have improved our approach to meeting the statutory duties for sustainable school travel under the 2006 Education and Inspection Act (EIA), and how far we have achieved our targets and actions to develop sustainable travel infrastructure, and promote the use of sustainable travel in the last year (2009/2010).
The review has been informed by data collected from a number of sources, such as consultation results, school travel plans, and all relevant LA department teams.
Section 2provides the most recent figures for pupil’s modes of travel. This takes place through the STP Programme and AnnualSchool Census. This information is used to monitor the degree towhich children and young people have adopted more sustainable modes of travelboth in practice and preference, and the progress Lewisham has made in promoting sustainable travel options.
As part of the review, the audit of existing travel and transportinfrastructure across the borough has been updated. The results are summarised in Section 3.
Section 4 outlines the Council’s achievements in 2009/10, and priorities for 2010/11. Including initiatives that have promoted sustainable travel, and the measures it takes todevelop thesustainable transport network in the borough in order to overcomethebarriers to using sustainable modes of travel identified in our SMOT strategy
Section 5 provides an update of the School Travel Plan (STP) support package offered to Schools from the Council, and the current position.
Our success will be judged in terms of our ability to secure sustained changes in
travel behaviour towards the greater use of sustainable travelfor school journeys and our contribution to the development of Lewisham’s “sustainable schools”, how this will be measured is given in section 6.
The following documents should be read in conjunction with the Sustainable Mode of Travel Strategy for Schools:
- London Borough of Lewisham’s Local Transport Plan 2006 –2011 (LTP)
- London Borough of Lewisham’s Children and Young Persons Plan
- London Borough of Lewisham Community Plan and Local Area Agreement
- Lewisham Schools’ School Travel Plans
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1.0Introduction
The Education and Inspections Act 2006[1]extends local authorities’ duties to promote choice and accessibility through provision of sustainabletravel and transport arrangements for journeys to, from and between schools and other educational institutions, including provision of free transport for the most disadvantaged families.The insertion of Section 508A into the Education Actplaces a general duty on local authorities to publish a Sustainable School Travel Strategy.
There are four mainelements to the duty that local authorities must satisfy, these are:
- an assessment of the travel and transport needs of children and young peoplewithin the authority’s area;
- an audit of the sustainable travel and transport infrastructure within the authoritythat may be used when travelling to, from, or between, schools/institutions;
- a strategy to develop the sustainable travel and transport infrastructure within theauthority so that the travel and transport needs of children and young people arebetter catered for;
- promotion of sustainable travel and transport modes on the journey to, fromand between schools and other institutions.
Lewisham has 93 schools in total across the borough. The local authority works closely with them all to ensure they have an appropriate school travel plan which highlights key actions they will be taking to ensure their pupils are able to travel to and from school safely and using sustainable modes of transport where possible.
1.1 Background Information
Lewisham is an Inner London Borough, bordering the River Thames in the north, the borough of Bromley in the south, and the boroughs of Southwarkand Greenwich to the west and east. In recent years the Borough has enjoyedimproved access to east and central London by virtue of the extension of theDocklands Light Railway (DLR) and the link it provides to the Jubilee Line.
The borough is well placed in terms of transport. Lewisham benefits from a range of transports links such as rail, docklands light railway (DLR), extensive bus routes and more recently the newly operating London Over Ground (formerly known as the East London Line). This is a major factor for Lewisham residents, who rely heavily upon existing transport methods to travel in and out of the borough.
Lewisham’s transport modes include:
• 20 main line stations –six of which provide interchanges with the Underground network(New Cross,Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill, Sydenham and New Cross Gate).
• 3 DLR stations - one at Lewisham with a bus/rail interchange.
• Over 40bus routes - tendered by Transport for London.
• 1 designated wharf- on the Thames at ConvoysWharf providing access for river transport.
More information on Lewisham transport can be found within the Sustainable Modes of Transport Strategy which can be foundhere.
1.2 What Is Sustainable Travel?
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 defines sustainable travel as: ‘Modes of travel that the local authority considers may improve the physical wellbeingof those using them or the environmental well-being of all or part of thelocal authority’s area, or a combination of the two.’
1.3 Why is Sustainable Travel for Schools Important toLewisham?
In supporting choice and access to education for the children and young people of Lewisham and in promoting physical wellbeing, the SMoT strategy impacts on the delivery of the following priorities for Lewisham, as noted in our Children and Young People’s Plan 2009 -2012:
- Being Healthy – BH4 Reduce childhood obesity
- Staying Safe – SS5 Ensure that children and young people feel safe
- Enjoy and Achieve – EA3 Continue to improve school attendance, EA5 Meet the needs of pupils with SEN and disabilities
In making access to education available to children and young people across the borough,the strategy can support otherpolicies (such as the Extended Schools Programme) in the delivery of widereducational opportunities. This in turn will contribute to raising the skill base in thefuture adult population of the Borough.
This strategy contributes towards the promotion of health amongst children and young people through greater levels of walking andcycling (promoted via travel plans).
Road Safety is an important issue across all areas of the borough. This Strategy canmake a positive contribution towards infrastructure improvements along withpromotion and training.
1.4 The Aim and Objectives of the Strategy
Aim:
To work in partnership with schools toincrease the use of sustainable modes oftravel and reduce car use.
Objectives:
- to make cycling and walking safer and more attractive;
- to reduce congestion around the school area;
- to develop partnerships with schools, their communities and other organisations to improve sustainable modes of travel in the borough
- to promote the development of School Travel Plans (STPs) and achieve 100% of schools completing STPs ;
- to support schools to promote road user safety through education and training;
- to work with schools to promote the health benefits of walking and cycling ;
- to promote more sustainable travel choices by ensuring all new educationalestablishments are accessible by walking, cycling and public transport.
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2.0 Assessment of Pupil’s Travel and Transport Needs
In order to increase the uptake of sustainable modes of travel for the journey to school it is necessary to have a full picture of trips that are being undertaken so that appropriate schemes are introduced and promotions are correctly and efficiently targeted. This section contains an assessment of the travel of Lewisham school pupils. Data has been collected at two levels; at a countrywide level through theAnnual School Census and at the local level through the STP.
Educational Establishments in Lewisham
There are 93 schools located throughout the borough. This includes:
67 Primary schools
11 Secondary schools
3 Academies
1 Pupil Referral Unit
3 Independent Schools
2 Nursery Schools
6 Special Schools
2.1 Pupils’ Travel Patterns
Patterns of school travel are complex and involve significant flows. It varies fromschool to school, according to local circumstances including location catchment area,attractiveness of the school and demographics. Therefore, it is important to considerthe need and patterns of each school.
The Annual School Census (ASC) in January 2007 included for the first time a
question on how pupils travel to school. All schools with a travel planare required to complete this question in their returns, providing the Authority withmonitoring data on existing travel patterns in their area. 94.4% of pupil’s travel data was collected in 2009/10.
Data for all the schools in Lewisham (Table 1) shows that children andyoung peopleare travelling by three main modes of transport (Car/Van, PublicTransport and Walking). Walking is the most significantoverall mode of transport used by children and young people.
Table 1: Modes of travel usually used by pupils to school, Lewisham compared to national average (source: National Travel Survey, Department for Transport)
Year / 2006/07 / 2007/08 / 2008/09 / 2009/10Mode of
Transport / Lewisham / National / Lewisham / National / Lewisham / National / Lewisham / National
Car/Van/ Taxi/Car Share / 23% / 30% / 19% / 31% / 19% / 32% / 23% / 31%
Public Transport / 17% / 15% / 26% / 14 % / 22% / 15% / 16% / 15%
Walking / 58% / 46% / 53% / 46% / 55% / 44% / 55% / 43%
Cycling / 1% / 2% / 1% / 1% / 1% / 2% / 1% / 2%
Others / 1% / 6% / 1% / 8% / 3% / 8% / 5% / 8%
It has generally been the case that in Lewisham thereare fewer children being taken to school by car, and more walking than the national average. This trend is continuing in 2009/10.
The rise in use of cars (including car share, taxi and van) in Lewisham in 2009, can be attributed to a change in the way that data is collected. A significant percentage; 95%, of those who travel by this mode use car share, which is more sustainable that single occupancy.
It is clear from this data, that modes of travel have remained relatively static over the last 4 years. The continued development of improving infrastructure and promotion of sustainable modes of travel aim to increase the percentage of pupils using alternative modes of travel to car use in the coming years.
2.2 Comparison between Primary and Secondary Schools
2.2.1 Primary Pupils:
Figure 1: Primary School Modes of Travel, Academic year 2009/10
As revealed in Figure 1 above, walking is overwhelmingly the mostpopular mode of transport for primary school children, with use of public transport lower than the overall picture for all the schools in the borough. This reflects the statistically shorter distance required to travel to a primaryschool than that of young people travelling to secondary school.
With 70% of primary pupils now walking to school, Lewisham has achieved an increase from 66% in 2008/09. Schools continue to set their own targets in conjunction with the Council to ensure that pupils are able to continue to walk to school, and to encourage more pupils to begin to do so.
Of the 21% who use a car, taxi or van, 96% are car sharing. According to data collected from primary schools in Lewisham in 2009/10, less than 1% travel in cars with single occupancy
2.2.2 Secondary Schools:
Figure 2 Secondary pupil mode of travel to schools 2009/10
Travel to secondary schools shows a significantly different picture. Public transportuse increases dramatically for pupils travelling to secondary schools in the borough, with a corresponding declinein walking. This is likely to be connected to higher levels ofindependence to travel at this age, and also due to the greater distance many pupils are required totravel to their secondary school.
Whilst the use of public transport has increased as a mode of transport for 52% of secondary pupils, up from 50% in 2008/09 this is a relatively small increase compared to the decline in walking, which fell from 36% in 2008/09 to 30% in 2009/10. Cycling remains at approximately 1%, while use of cars and ‘other’ has shown an increase.
While the increase in the use of public transport is a positive trend, more has to be done to increase the number of pupils choosing to travel by cycle, or walking.
2.3 Pupils’ Travel Preferences
In addition to providing data on how pupils travel to/from school the STP processrequires schools to collect information on how pupils would like to travel to/fromschool and then monitor this on an annual basis.
As in 2008/09, data from the Schools’ Travel Plans confirms that cycling is the preferred mode of travel for the vast majority of pupils, both primary and secondary.
Whilst schools have been supported to promote cycling and improve the infrastructure, this is yet to produce a modal shift to cycling as a mode of travel for young people.As part of school travel plans, schools also collect information on the barriers to sustainable travel. Understanding pupils preferences, along with the barriers to taking up these modes of travel informs future actions on the promotion of the benefits of walking and cycling. These are given in Section 3 and include promotion and cycle storage installation, along with training and awareness to address some parents’ concerns around the safety of cycling to school.
2.4 Summary of Pupil’s Travel Needs
A priority area for the Council and schools is the use of bicycles to travel to andfrom school. Both Primary and Secondary students indicated that they would preferto travel to their schools by bike and it should be the Council’s focus to provide thefacilities and infrastructure to enable them to do so. Many schools have reflected this preference by instigating actions to promote cycling within their STPs, such as Fairlawn Primary Schools promotion of cycle training to parents and carers to build confidence for families to cycle. The Council is already involvedwith providing improved cycle facilities across the borough through improvements tothe London Cycle Network, and a focus onproviding safe cycle routes around schools. The Council also support schools in providing adequate cycling parking orstorage facilities.
3.0 Lewisham’s Sustainable Travel and Transport Infrastructure
Lewisham is dedicated to developing and promoting sustainable modes of travel and transport in the borough. The Council’s strategies for developing infrastructure are listed in this section.
3. 1 Strategy to DevelopWalking Infrastructure
How successful have we been in 2009/10:
Action / Latest Position at August 2010Assess and provide road safety engineering measures such as
- Road Traffic Calming/20mph Zones
- Minor Traffic Management Schemes
- Safer Routes to School Programme
- Controlled Parking
- HolbeachPrimary School - Zebra crossing survey.
- St Margarets of Lee - New school children crossing warning signs and associated road marking.
- Bonus PastorSecondary School - New school children crossing warning signs and associated road marking. Linked with DownderryPrimary School - New guard railing.
- BaringSchool - New school children crossing warning signs and associated road marking. Footway and road junction improvements in Linchmere Road.
- BrindishieSchool - New dropped crossing and anti skid surface.
Provide School Crossing Patrols (SCP) where there is an identified need / There are currently 30 SCP sites (1 suspended due to a fire at Temple Grove). 29 SCP sites are operating.
Continue with improvements to walking facilities in North of borough (Deptford Links) in conjunction with other Regeneration strategies. / The North Lewisham Links programme aims to improve walking and cycling routes in the north of the borough. Ten separate routes have been identified that connect possible new development sites with existing (and new) community facilities such as schools and colleges, town centres, parks and public open spaces.
Already, £4 million has been secured from central government to enableworkto begin on the route between Deptford and New Cross.
Construction work is now underway on major improvements to FordhamPark, including new lighting, footpaths, signage, seats and bins, a meadow and orchard area, and three play areas – for under-5s, teens and families. The work will be carried out in stages, and is currently due to take until January 2011.
Also during the summer of 2010, the underpass that connects Amersham Vale and Pagnell Streetgot new CCTV and lighting.
The makeover of MargaretMcMillanPark is now complete, including the main footpath being straightened, meaning that users can easily see from one end of the park to the other. This, and the addition of new lighting, makes it feel much safer.
The Council is currently looking at a variety of different ways to fund the remainder of the programme.
Improvements to pedestrian & cycle access to stations along the ELL. / Through the TfL supported Station Access schemes, the Council will continue to make stations increasingly accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and bus users with the aim to reduce the dominance of cars and make sustainable modes of travel more attractive to use.
Impact:
Impact can be measured by achieving a continued increase in the number of pupils walking to school. The most current data shows an increase in walking as the mode of travel for primary school pupils, and we will continue to work with schools to maintain this shift. Good practice includes Bridishe Primary School’s ‘walking buddy’ scheme for year 6 children, which includes age appropriate first aid training for students in year 5 and 6, and allows children to walk to school with friends where they would otherwise be unable to do so.