HIGHWAYS bosses who received praise for rolling out 20mph zones outside schools across Barnsley have confirmed the scheme will not be extended due to a lack of resources.
Although walk-to-school initiatives have been deemed a success - as have education leaders’ attempts to boost the amount of kids using bicycles to get to and from their classrooms - matters reached a tipping point, according to councillors.
Barnsley Council’s highways department committed to a scheme to assess all schools sited on main roads in the borough to see if 20mph zones could be introduced to slow down traffic.
The Chronicle can reveal that 53 advisory 20mph signs have been installed at 24 schools across the borough following a study - but the programme will not be extended.
Coun James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, said: “The traffic service undertook an overall feasibility study based on the school crossing patrol risk assessment at all primary schools in the borough, and a priority list was produced as a result.
“Those schools at the upper end of this list received the signs within the available budget.
“As part of the feasibility study, we also conducted an audit of all existing road safety infrastructure - mainly signs and lines - in the immediate vicinity of each primary school.
“We identified small-scale improvements and maintenance issues that will be addressed, even if the respective school did not qualify for the provision of a ‘20mph when lights flash’ sign.
“At present, due to the availability of resources, there are no current plans to further expand the project at this time.
“However, we recognise the hugely positive impact they had, and should additional resources become available we will consider revisiting this scheme.
“In addition, we will also consider additional installations should there be a specific safety issue in the vicinity of a particular primary school, using our usual criteria for road safety improvement priority sites.”
Road safety charity Brake called on more local authorities to follow Barnsley’s lead - but said more 20mph zones were essential.
A spokesperson added: “Parents and carers across the country say they don’t walk their children to school every day because roads are too busy.
“Compounding this, nearly two-thirds say their school doesn’t have 20mph speed limits on all surrounding roads.
“We speak to lots of schools where teachers are doing everything they can to make the roads near their school safe, but ultimately they need support from their local council and decision-makers.
“We know that excess speed is a factor in about a quarter of fatal crashes and the physics is pretty straightforward: the faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it hits and the greater the impact.
“A crash at 30mph has twice the amount of kinetic energy as a crash at 20mph, so reducing speed saves lives.( “We’re calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits - and other measures to effectively reduce traffic speed - so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day.”
