Lorton School School Travel Plan January 2010 Lorton School Map mosaic representing all the settlements in the school catchment area - reflecting the rural community. 2 Contents page 1. School details 4 2. Working party – to develop and implement the plan 12 3. Survey and route plotting carried out 13 4. Summary of transport and road safety problems 16 5. Working party recommendations for action 18 6. Targets – specific % targets for modal shift by yearly review date 18 7. Action plans 19-23 8. Review of targets 24 9. Cycle Count 24 10. Monitoring training 25 11. Comments and notes 26 12. Signed agreement 27 3 1 School details DCSF school reference number 909/ 2123 Type of school Primary Number on roll (including no. of SEN pupils with a brief description of subsequent impact on 71 – 2 SEN, both using school transport with no special transport needs. travel) Number of staff (It is highly recommended that a supplementary 9 Travel Plan for staff and other school users is developed) Age range of pupils 4 to 11 School contact details Head teacher Olivia Harrison High Lorton Address COCKERMOUTH Cumbria Postcode CA13 9UL Telephone number 01900 325700 Fax 01900 325700 Email address [email protected] http://www.lorton.cumbria.sch.uk/ Website Working group contact Name Olivia Harrison High Lorton Address COCKERMOUTH Cumbria Telephone number 01900 325700 Email address [email protected] 4 School situation and use Lorton School is in the Vale of Lorton in the Lake District National Park, surrounded by fells the villages of High and School Catchment Area Low Lorton are close to each other with the school on the road that links the two. There is no speed limit in the village. The main industries are agriculture and tourism. Children travel from Gatesgarth, Buttermere and Loweswater to the south and from Cockermouth to the north. The Map on page 6 indicates the diversity of the area. Normal school hours are from 9:00am till 3:00pm. After school clubs run on a Tuesday evening from 3:05pm till 4:05 pm, topics include arts and crafts plus African drumming. We walk to Lorton Church for services 5 times a year. Members of the community help in school - we are part of the Rotary Readers scheme. Members of the community attend a 'Community Lunch' held at school once per month. The school contributes to the local parish magazines. 5 School Location Cockermouth, some of us travel from here Lake District Lorton School National Park boundary Loweswater, some of us live here Buttermere and Gatesgarth, some of us travel from here. 6 Aerial view – High Lorton Lorton Church High Lorton To Low Lorton Our School 7 The Adventure playground Enjoying some of the play equipment at break time African Drumming After School Club. 8 Transport Links More detailed information can be found in appendix A Main entrance, the school buses park Entrances here, when they are here it is not possible for 2 vehicles to pass, the To Low Lorton buses use a voluntary one-way system through the village, leaving in the direction of Low Lorton. Public transport Cumbria Passenger Transport Map is included in appendix A1 . The location of our school is marked on this Map showing that the nearest railway station is in Workington approximately 10 miles away well outside out catchment area. There are bus stops in both High and Low Lorton. Services 949 operates three buses a day between Buttermere in the south and Cockermouth to the north, it offers a dial a ride service for those living in both High and Low Lorton. Non of these times fit in with school hours. Services 77/77A – the Honister Rambler only operates between April and October linking Keswick to Buttermere and the visitors centre at Whinlatter. Locations of the bus stops and full details of services 949 and 77/77A are in appendices A2 and A3 respectively School bus routes Three local authority buses run to Embleton (2 vehicles) and Loweswater and Buttermere. Two more mini-buses, organized by parents run to Cockermouth. One of the contractors occasionally uses a taxi. There vehicles all approach the school from High Lorton Village and leave towards Low Lorton, this is to ease congestion outside the school as when they are parked it reduces the highway to single carriageway. Many locals recognise this and use a similar route to avoid the school at pick up and drop off times. However, as a tourist destination visitors to the area are not aware of this and conflict can occur. No other children are allowed to leave the school until after the buses have left on an afternoon. The routes used by the buses are shown in Appendix A4 9 Walk routes There are a limited number of footways within the village the surrounding roads are narrow with no footways. Hence only parents of children from within Low Lorton are comfortable with their children walking to school. The children also walk to Lorton church. Appendix A5 shows the routes used to school and the church. Cycle routes One cycle route was identified during the route plotting again as with walking parents are reluctant for their children to bike to school. The route identified is shown in appendix A6 NCR 71, the C2C passes though Low Lorton and to the south of High Lorton, this can be seen along with the rights of Way in the area on the map in Appendix A8 Car routes A number of routes were identified during route plotting , this included trips from Cockermouth some outlying farms near Stanger to the north and Brackenthwaite to the south of the school. Parents using cars tend to park away from the school the centre of Low Lorton to avoid the congestion at school times. The also have to wait until the school buses have left before they collect their children. Identified car routes are marked on the plan in Appendix A7. 10 Aims Due to the very rural nature of the area and the limited opportunities for children to walk or cycle to school the potential to encourage other forms of transport is limited. For this reason this plan aims to focus on. Raising awareness of the impact of transport choices on the: Health and fitness levels of the pupils The environmental impact of travel choices Encouraging safe use of the highway at all times: Equip the children with knowledge and skills to stay safe on the roads. Road and personal safety awareness. Space outside the school is limited and the highway narrow and reduction in the numbers doing the ‘school run’ would be beneficial. It should be noted that the buses using the school have a voluntary one way system to avoid meeting each other and many locals also use this route during school entry and egress. Issues arise when non-locals, there are a number of holiday let houses in the area meet oncoming vehicles and there is little room to manouevre. Objectives (linked to Action Plan – Section 7) To promote the Aims of our Travel Plan we will. Awareness of the impact of travel choices: 1. Increase travel and health awareness See Actions 7.4 and 7.5. Encouraging safe use of the highway: 2. Provide cycle training 3. Provide pedestrian training 4. Improved cycle storage/parents shelter facilities. There is an existing light opposite the school but because of its position and the buildings there is no light on the school gates/entrance. 5. Encourage use of the school bus. 6. Inform/encourage parents of the need to park safely within the vicinity of the school. See Actions 7.1 to 7.5. 11 2 Working party – to develop and implement the plan Name Position Responsibility within working party Olivia Harrison Head Teacher Chair Eric Nicholson County Cllr Local advice Andrew Butler Area Engineer Highways Advice Kevin Cosgrove Highway contact Highways Advice Betty Franklin BWTS Capita Symonds BWTS Advisor Sally Scales Neighbourhood Development Link to local community Officer Consultation Name/position Subject/how the consultation took place Date Appendix no. Pupils Route plotting carried out with Abi, Jenny and Nancy from 23/06/09 A5, A6, A7 & BWTS. The routes defined are shown on the maps in appendix A8 A and issues raised are in Section 3. Pupils On-line surveys a summary is in Section 3 and the full reports 03/11/09 B1 in Appendix B1. Pupils Each Friday afternoon the whole school hold a School Council Weekly Assembly, where even the very youngest take an active part. discussion N/A Transport issues and the Travel Plan was discussed by the school as it developed in these meetings. Working Group The Working Group were set up to guide the plan and held 2 21/10/09 B4 meetings. Those unable to attend were emailed copies of the and Meeting notes. 25/11/09 Parents A newsletter/letters are sent to parents at least one a month (more if necessary). Copies of the newsletter and all letters Monthly D5 are available on the school web site. Parents/Wider Community D2 Website: The website is updated regularly with information covering all aspects of the school and includes newsletters, timetables and details of curriculum and activities. http://www.lorton.cumbria.sch.uk 12 3 Survey and route plotting Baseline Data Survey How do you travel to school? Date of No. Bus Car/Van Car Share Cycling Rail Walk Taxi survey Year of (dd/mm No No No No N N pupils % % % % No. % % % ) . o o 2009 3/11/09 59 21 36 19 32 4 7 4 7 - - 6 10 5 8 How would you like to travel to school? Date of Car No.