“School streets” could be trialled across Wokingham under plans being considered by Wokingham Borough Council.

If trials come in, it could mean that the council imposes temporary restrictions on motorised traffic around schools. The trials are being considered as part of council plans to improve transport and reduce traffic on Wokingham roads.

A draft of the plan says the council will “investigate locations for the introduction of school streets, to ensure that children and young people can walk and cycle to school safely and improve health.”

“School streets” typically involve stopping cars and other motor vehicles driving on streets leading to schools around the start and end of the day.

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A survey of residents and organisations by Wokingham Borough Council found support for measures to reduce traffic and improve pedestrian safety.

It found that only a third of residents felt that children can walk and cycle to school safely, and more than 90 per cent felt that pedestrian safety is a top priority in town centres.

But just 48 per cent of residents said they would accept “slightly longer” journeys by car to make it safer to walk or cycle to school. Some 32 per cent disagreed, and 20 per cent felt neutral.

The proposals and survey form part of Wokingham Borough Council’s draft Local Transport Plan. When eventually adopted by the council, the plan will form the basis for how the council manages roads, streets and public transport for years to come.

Its goals include getting 50 per cent of all journeys in town centres to be made by “active travel” – walking, cycling or wheeling – by 2030, and reducing pollution to “net zero” carbon emissions.

The draft also suggests that new 20 miles per hour speed limits could be introduced in towns across the borough, and that new or improved walking and cycling routes could be developed.

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The plan says Wokingham has “one of the highest levels of car ownership in the country,” and that reducing negative aspects of transport such as pollution, noise and speed can improve residents’ lives.

The draft plan says: “Transport is one of the key building blocks of health and a successful transport system helps all residents to thrive.

“Whilst changes to the transport system to address the negative impacts of transport and reduce the impact on the environment may not always be easy, they provide new opportunities to improve health, wellbeing and the quality of the places people live in.”

Members of Wokingham Borough Council’s Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee are set to discuss the draft plan at a meeting on Monday, September 4. The council will then seek to open the plan up to a public consultation at a future date.