The Council commissioned Ethos to undertake assessments to help encourage more pupils to walk and cycle while improving safety around school environments. Across the island, many schools are located within small towns and rural communities where a high proportion of journeys are currently undertaken by car.
This often leads to congestion and safety concerns at school arrival and departure times, creating barriers for pupils and parents who may otherwise consider walking or cycling.
The Council required a structured assessment of schools to understand the challenges affecting school travel and to identify opportunities to improve safety and accessibility. This included considering the suitability of School Streets schemes, alongside wider measures that could improve the safety and attractiveness of walking and cycling routes to schools.
The study needed to provide clear recommendations that could support future investment in infrastructure and behavioural change initiatives, helping the Council promote healthier and more sustainable travel choices for school journeys.
The project required Ethos to undertake School Streets and Safer Routes to School assessments covering all 44 schools across the Isle of Anglesey. The study required a consistent and transparent methodology that reflected the island’s varied context, including schools located within towns, rural villages and along key transport corridors.
A structured assessment framework was developed to evaluate the suitability of each school for a School Streets scheme. This considered factors such as road safety risk, traffic conditions, access requirements, parking displacement and the surrounding highway environment.
Where School Streets were not considered appropriate, alternative measures were identified to improve safety and support active travel, ensuring that proportionate and deliverable recommendations were developed for every school.
Targeted stakeholder engagement was undertaken with schools, parents and carers, local residents and wider stakeholders, supported by a digital consultation platform. This engagement helped build a detailed understanding of local travel behaviours, school gate issues and safety concerns, informing a prioritised programme of School Streets and safer routes to school interventions.
The study provided Isle of Anglesey County Council with a clear, evidence-led basis for delivering School Streets and improving the safety and attractiveness of school journeys across the island.
From this work, a series of potential School Street pilot sites were identified where early implementation could deliver the greatest benefits.
To support delivery, Ethos prepared a comprehensive feasibility study setting out the case for intervention at the priority locations. This was supported by concept design proposals for both School Streets schemes and wider safer routes to school improvements, identifying measures that could improve safety, manage traffic around school gates and create more attractive walking and cycling routes for pupils and families.
The outputs provide Isle of Anglesey County Council with a clear and evidence-led foundation for progressing the schemes and securing funding from the Welsh Government to support the implementation of School Streets and safer routes to school infrastructure across the island.
