Bristol City Council is committed to making Bristol’s streets safer for everyone living, working and visiting the city. An area of priority are the streets outside our schools – we want to make the journey to school safer and healthier for children and their families, and help to make it a nice environment for everyone living and working there.
One of the ways we are doing this is through the introduction of School Streets, whereby the street or streets immediately outside the school entrance are closed to non-essential vehicles at school opening and closing times.
Only people walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting are permitted access to the School Street zone while the restriction is in place, with exemptions given to emergency vehicles and Blue Badge holders. In some cases, permits will be given to residents and businesses living or working within the zone – this varies from scheme to scheme and is decided on an individual basis.
Aims of the School Street scheme:
The aim of a School Street is to make it easier and safer for children and their parents to walk, wheel, cycle and scoot to school as well as improving road safety outside school gates
Reducing the use of private car journeys to and from school should lead to:
School Streets are now being rolled out by local authorities across the country.
In Bristol we now have thirteen permanent School Street schools which are listed below in the order they were launched.
Proposed School Streets:
Schools that are interested in applying for the Bristol scheme School Streets via the Expression of Interest form must be aware of the following points before submitting an application:
Staff Stewarding
At present, funding for cameras is unavailable. Shortlisted schools will need to rely on physical barriers to operate the School Street and these barriers must be stewarded by staff during the designated times of closure. This is a significant undertaking and needs to be given due consideration before applying. We can give further advice and information on this and connect interested schools to existing School Streets to discuss the potential implications of this – please email [email protected] for further information.
Modeshift STARS Good Level.
Participation in the School Streets scheme is contingent upon achieving Modeshift STARS Good level, reflecting the school’s commitment to sustainable travel and road safety. This scheme is offered for free and entails a wide variety of active travel initiatives available to the whole school. Contact the team responsible for Modeshift STARS through [email protected] for more information on how to get started.
SLT Involvement
A member of the school’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is required to complete the application form, demonstrating whole school commitment for the initiative.
Formation of a Working Group
If shortlisted, a School Street working group will be formed to collaborate with us on implementing and managing the School Streets program effectively. At the point of application, schools must nominate two individuals from the school who are willing to be representatives of the working group.
How to apply
Check eligibility: ensure your school meets the criteria and have understood the requirement to steward School Street road closure barriers as detailed above.
Submit Application: Complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) form.
PLEASE NOTE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR 2025
Leaders across the West have welcomed greater investment through today’s Spending Review, with a record three-quarters of a billion pounds of transport funding confirmed for the West. That means better buses, more trains, and mass transit – with trams and much more on the table. The Treasury has also today confirmed plans to improve rail links between Bristol and Cardiff.
The second phase of a project - to reduce congestion, improve the reliability of buses, and promote active travel along a major transport route in Bristol - will get underway from Monday 16 June 2025.
That’s summer sorted. Children and young people under the age of 16 are set to be able to travel for free on buses across our region during the school holidays, thanks to new investment proposed by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.
Bristol’s first electrified bus depot was opened on 3 June 2025 by a government minister and the West of England’s new mayor.
Leaders across the region have today welcomed more than three-quarters of a billion pounds set to be invested in transport projects in the West. The Chancellor has announced plans to more than double investment in local transport in England’s city regions, committing to “investment in all parts of the country, not just a few.”
