Clampdown for traffic at new learning centres

Paul Whitehouse

A WIDE ranging series of measures to control the use of private cars around Barnsley’s new network of Advanced Learning Centres (ALCs) will be introduced as the colleges open up to replace existing comprehensive schools.

Barnsley Council describes the new ALCs as “world class” educational facilities and they will be the biggest single investment so far made in the town, with money coming from the Private Finance Initiative which ties the authority into a 25-year contract to rent the buildings back.

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The council is determined that it will use the opportunity to promote walking, cycling and public transport as the best means of access to the ALCs.

It also means there will be restrictions on those using cars to get there and back, with controls on car parks and traffic regulation in the surrounding areas which will mean 20 mph speed limits where it is possible to introduce them.

Parking wardens will also be introduced at each site for the first three months to ensure ALC staff, students and visitors do not abuse the parking arrangements.

They will be gradually phased out during that period, with the expectation motorists will conform to the restrictions.

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Each of the ALCs will have a member of staff with responsibility for formulating travel plans and monitoring work will be done over the first two years to check how successful the schemes are.

Work will also be done in the areas around each of the 11 ALCs, identifying all public access routes and taking steps to ensure they are as user-friendly as possible, with changes such as new direction signs.

The council hopes to investigate the possibility of linking up with other bodies that have an interest in getting people walking, such as the health service, to potentially get more money to improve pedestrian facilities around the ALCs.

According to the council, it is as important for the surrounding communities as the ALCs themselves that traffic in the surrounding areas is kept under control.

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A specialist officer will be used to provide education for ALC users, with a particular emphasis on the under 25s and moves encourage more people to use bicycles.

The council is encouraged by the results of a national cycle cities initiative by the Government, where steps were taken in six big communities to promote bicycles, ending with successful results.

In one area, bicycle use among school children went up by 125 per cent and officials believe that success could be repeated in Barnsley.

The changes will bring a cost, however, and the council is expecting to spend about 86,000 on that work in the first year.

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As more ALCs are completed during the following 12 months it is anticipated the money going into the project will rise to 188,000.

That will include costs of 33,000 for half-day training events during the second year and 15,000 to employ ‘parking stewards’ as the second year’s ALCs start to open.

The centres’ own travel plans will also cost 35,000 to produce in the second year.

Council officers accept there are “significant implications” for communities where ALCs are being developed on fresh sites, rather than existing school locations, but say the measures they propose should provide the ALCs “with the incentives they need”.

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They also say that doing nothing to manage traffic and promote walking and cycling is not a viable option.

The council has been working to encourage less reliance on cars for some time, both to improve health through the exercise benefits and to reduce congestion and the pollution caused by cars.

Barnsley Council’s Cabinet meets tomorrow where a decision will be taken on whether to go ahead with the proposals.