Bristol School Streets

We are delivering School Streets in Bristol as part of our plans to improve road safety, encourage walking, cycling and scooting to and from school and improve the air quality and environment outside of schools.

What are School Streets?

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:

  • Less road danger from traffic
  • Less anti-social behaviour from inconsiderate parking and dangerous driving
  • More children walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to school
  • Reduced congestion and local pollution from idling vehicles

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.

  • 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.

    Mode Shift STARS Bronze Level.

    Participation in the School Streets scheme is contingent upon achieving Mode Shift STARS bronze 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 Mode Shift 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 THAT YOU MUST APPLY AGAIN IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION BEFORE APRIL 2024.