A trial scheme to restrict traffic outside Robin Hood Primary School has begun, aiming to improve air quality and road safety for pupils.
The Kingston and North Kingston Neighbourhood Committee approved the experimental traffic management order for the school street scheme on Bowness Crescent, Windermere Road, and a section of Robin Hood Lane. The restrictions will be in place during school term times, from 8:30 am to 9:30 am and 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm.
This trial period will last between six and 18 months, during which the effectiveness of the scheme and any potential traffic displacement will be monitored. The effectiveness will be measured through pre- and post-counts of traffic data, a 'hands-up' survey in each class to track changes in how children travel to school, and monitoring for traffic displacement and dangerous parking in adjacent roads such as Keswick Avenue and Robin Hood Lane.
Exemptions will be provided for residents, individuals with disabilities, and essential service providers. These will be managed through a dedicated vehicle exemption portal, allowing residents on restricted streets to register one car per person, and carers to be registered. Temporary exemptions can be arranged for emergencies. School children with disabilities or SEND needs, and their carers or parents, will also be able to receive exemptions if direct access to the school is required. The K3 bus route will also have access, following discussions with TFL.
The initiative is part of a wider borough-wide strategy to create safer environments around schools, encourage active travel such as walking and cycling, and reduce congestion and parking pressures in residential areas. The scheme aims to encourage a genuine shift towards active travel by ensuring drivers cannot see the school entrance from their parked vehicles, thus prompting them to walk the remainder of the journey or change their travel behaviour entirely. Research suggests that if the school entrance is not visible from the car, parents are more likely to park safely and walk their child the rest of the way, or change their behaviour to let them walk, wheel, or cycle to school. The impact on commute times is not explicitly detailed, but the goal is to reduce congestion.
During the meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the committee heard that Robin Hood Primary School scored highly on the council's school street matrix, which assesses factors like road type, school catchment area, and deprivation levels. The school's executive head teacher, Sally Berman, strongly supported the initiative, citing persistent issues with traffic congestion, unsafe parking, and aggressive altercations during drop-off and pick-up times. The current situation has 'led to quite a few aggressive altercations', and the scheme aims to create a 'calmer, safer, more welcoming environment for the children arriving and departing from school' by restricting motor traffic during school term times, which is intended to reduce the causes of such altercations.
Sam Valentine, Senior Sustainable Transport Officer, presented the proposal, highlighting that similar schemes have been successfully implemented across the borough. Kingston currently has '10 permanent school streets and two in trial' and this is a 'tried and tested, successful borough-wide strategy'. He explained that the scheme aims to encourage a genuine shift towards active travel. Lessons learned from previous schemes are incorporated into new projects, and monitoring and evaluation reports are produced for all school streets projects.
The committee also discussed the implementation of the scheme, with assurances that residents would be notified and that a formal objection period would run alongside the trial. A follow-up report will be presented to the committee within 18 months to determine if the scheme should be made permanent.
Public reports pack Tuesday 15-Sep-2026 19.30 Kingston and North Kingston Neighbourhood Committee