Drivers fined for ignoring 'school streets' rules

Nearly 3,000 fines have been given to motorists for continuing to ignore new traffic-free zones set up around schools in a part of Kent.

For the first six months that Medway Council set up so-called 'school streets' around seven sites, drivers who broke the rules were given a warning.

The scheme, which introduces a temporary restriction on traffic in key roads around schools during set hours in the morning and afternoon, was brought into effect on 11 March.

Up until 11 September drivers received a letter reminding them of the ban, but now those who continue to drive within the zones get hit by a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that immediately after the end of the grace period, hundreds of fines were issued to drivers every week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Between September and October, 2,835 penalty charge notices were issued, raising between £99,225 and £198,450, all of which the council said would be reinvested back into the road network.

The roads that most regularly saw drivers slapped with fines were those around Burnt Oak Primary School in Gillingham, with 358 penalty notices issued in just one week.

In September, Medway Council announced it was considering expanding the scheme to a further nine sites and began a consultation with parents and residents.

Alex Paterson, the authority’s portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, said: “Every month, around 1,200 children are injured on the road, on their way to school, within 500 metres of their school.

“So if we can take as many cars as we can out of that equation, then that inherently makes those journeys safer."

The second round of school streets proposals, which include nine more schools, is to be considered at the next cabinet meeting on 19 November.

Councillors will review consultation responses and make a decision on whether the scheme should go ahead.

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