St Augustine’s Primary School, Safer Routes to School scheme

We need your views

Darlington Council is committed to giving residents a bigger say in how local services are planned and delivered. We therefore welcome your views on the proposed changes to the area surrounding St Augustine’s Primary School to introduce a Safer Routes to School scheme.

Darlington’s Transport Strategy

Darlington’s Transport Plan (2023 – 2030) seeks to improve safety for all road users and reduce the impact of transport on the environment.

This includes a safer and more convenient highway network around schools delivered through School 20mph and Speed Management Schemes.

All schemes are supported by a programme of education, information and publicity to inform residents of the travel choices available to them and their impact on the environment.

What we are proposing (please see attached drawing)

St Augustine`s School Proposal plan [pdf document]

We are proposing to implement a 20mph zone around St. Augustine’s Primary School and an advisory 20mph zone on Grange Road, along the frontage to Polam School. The scheme will include:

• Traffic calming features in the form of road humps on Beechwood Avenue, Oakdene Avenue and Southend Avenue.
• A 20mph zone on the above roads and back lanes inclusive of the required regulatory signing and road markings.
• An advisory 20mph zone on Grange Road to slow vehicles down at the start and end of the school day.
• Introduction of some additional waiting restrictions on Beechwood Avenue during school drop off and pick up to act as a passing place for vehicles.
• Introduction of weekday 2 hour limited waiting on the east side (Crocus Walk side) of Southend Avenue. The intention is to provide a turnover of parking spaces that benefits both residents and the nearby schools whilst clearing out all day parking associated with the town centre. 

We have taken care to ensure that driveways are not obstructed, and that the features are placed in the best locations to have a traffic calming effect. 

Why are these measures necessary?

The Council is committed to providing a safer highway network around schools to reduce the risk of road traffic collisions.

We believe that these proposed measures will increase the safety of school children and residents in this area, and also encourage more people to walk and cycle.

What do you need to do?

Please take the time to consider our proposals as indicated on the attached plan and then complete the short on line questionnaire using the link on this page.

The questionnaire has a space for views and comments which will be considered as part of the consultation process and may help to influence the final scheme.

If you wish to ask specific questions, then you can contact the scheme designer below.  

Following this consultation, we will progress with implementation of the scheme. You will be given the opportunity to object formally to the final scheme proposals.