A “school streets” project may have to end if volunteers do not come forward to keep it going.
Green councillor Steve Davis asked about the Balfour Road school streets scheme at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting just before Christmas.
The opposition leader also asked if the “experimental traffic regulation order” would stay in place, closing the road to traffic using barriers operated by volunteers from 8.15am to 9.15am and 2.45pm to 3.45pm in term time.
Balfour Primary School is one of at least 15 schools where the council has used experimental orders to bring in restrictions at the start and end of the school day.
Parents have raised concerns that the project, which started in July 2023 for 18 months, has collapsed as drivers park on zig-zags and ignore the restrictions.
At the council meeting, the Labour cabinet member for transport, parking and the public realm, Trevor Muten said that when the Balfour scheme started there was “strong compliance”.
In October, Councillor Muten met Councillor Davis and his fellow Preston Park ward councillors to find a way to keep the “school street” operational.
But he noted that many drivers had ignored the restrictions, taking their cars to the school gate.
In response to Councillor Davis’s question about keeping the traffic order, Councillor Muten said that the scheme in its present form might have to end or be put on hold until the council had more enforcement powers.
Councillor Muten said: “The schools have supported this as best they can. However, as the success of this scheme is subject to volunteers being present to support the restrictions and volunteer numbers have dropped over time, despite recent attempts by ward councillors to help the council find more volunteers, we have seen a growing number of people not adhering to the restrictions.
“It is disappointing to see people not following the restrictions.
“The Department for Transport recently issued guidance saying that relying on volunteers to help with school streets is not effective in the long-term.
“It is a great shame to see people not doing their bit to make roads around our schools safer for children by consistently following the rules, regardless of whether or not volunteers are in place to remind them.
“In light of the new guidance, where volunteers are prepared to help make streets safer outside schools, we will continue to support them.
“Where we do not have sufficient volunteers, as has proven to be the case at the Balfour school streets scheme, we will now revert to alternative arrangements which do not rely on volunteers.
“As far as the scheme for Balfour Primary School is concerned, this means removing the time restrictions from the traffic regulation order while making other restrictions in place within this order permanent.”