Traffic down 50% outside Lambeth schools as School Streets go permanent – but fines bring in “significant” income
Traffic outside two Lambeth primary schools has been cut by more than half under School Streets schemes now set to become permanent — with the council also pointing to improved …
Black News 
Traffic outside two Lambeth primary schools has been cut by more than half under School Streets schemes now set to become permanent — with the council also pointing to improved air quality around school gates.
But the same trials have also generated a “significant” stream of penalty charge income, raising familiar questions about enforcement and intent.
A new report recommends that three experimental School Street schemes in Brixton North, Clapham Town and Stockwell East — covering Macaulay CE Primary, St Andrew’s CE Primary and St Helen’s RC Primary — should now be made permanent following a statutory consultation process.
The headline figures are striking. Traffic counts show a 50.3 per cent reduction in motor vehicles at peak school times outside Macaulay CE Primary, and a 52.3 per cent drop at St Andrew’s. At St Helen’s, where roads are privately managed, site visits also indicate a noticeable reduction in traffic around the school gates.
The schemes work by restricting vehicle access on streets outside schools during drop-off and pick-up times, typically for around two hours a day during term time, with exemptions for residents and Blue Badge holders. Enforcement is carried out using camera technology, with drivers who ignore the restrictions facing fines.
Alongside the reduction in traffic, the council is also leaning heavily on air quality benefits. A Greater London Authority study cited in the report suggests that similar School Street closures can cut nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 23 per cent at school gates — a significant reduction given children’s heightened vulnerability to pollution.
Taken together, the data presents a strong case: fewer cars, safer streets, cleaner air. It is little surprise that officers conclude the schemes have not led to any “serious material impacts” and should be retained.
Consultation responses were relatively limited. Macaulay attracted three formal objections, St Helen’s one, and St Andrew’s none at all. Concerns raised included access for deliveries and trades, longer journey times, and the displacement of traffic onto nearby roads.
That last issue has already surfaced in practice. On The Chase, near Macaulay school, parents have reportedly been parking across driveways and blocking crossing points — prompting the council to consider further restrictions or even extending the School Street boundary.
It is a reminder that while School Streets can transform conditions directly outside school gates, they can also shift pressure elsewhere — a familiar pattern in traffic management schemes across London.
Then there is the question that inevitably follows any camera-enforced scheme: money.
The report acknowledges that the trial period generated a “significant amount of income” from penalty charge notices, although it stresses that revenue generation is not the purpose of the scheme and is expected to fall as compliance improves over time.
That may well be true — and the overall cost of making the schemes permanent is modest, at around £3,000 — but the presence of enforcement income, however incidental, continues to sit awkwardly alongside policies framed primarily around safety and public health.
Still, the broader direction of travel is clear. School Streets are now a central theme of Lambeth’s transport and climate strategy, with a political commitment to roll them out to every suitable primary school in the borough.
And on the evidence here, they are doing exactly what they were designed to do: cutting traffic, calming streets, and making the school run a little less chaotic.
Which leaves Lambeth in a familiar position — armed with strong data, a clear policy mandate, and a scheme that appears to work — while also quietly banking the proceeds from those who haven’t quite got the message yet.
