Tackling school parking issues in Essex

In 2015, Chelmsford City Council was part of the East of England Design in the Public Sector Programme, delivered by Design Council in partnership with the Local Government Association. Their challenge focused on the ongoing and contentious issue of parking around schools and the safety concerns that arise from it. They were interested in how a design-led approach could kick start a problem-solving project in partnership with local schools, teachers, residents and others in order to focus efforts and create a sustainable solution.

The Challenge

There are no easy solutions to this issue, which is a national as well as a local problem, with the police and local authorities often being drawn in to resolve disputes.

There was no cohesive, collaborative drive for resolution within Chelmsford, or in the wider county of Essex. Instead, the approach was somewhat piecemeal, being tackled from varying angles by numerous different groups but with increasing pressure to unravel the issue.

With more than 500 schools in Essex, a growing population and little evidence of a reduced reliance on cars, parking outside schools is a problem that is likely to increase rather than shrink. Every site has different needs and pressures, and so a localised approach needs to provide impact for that particular neighbourhood.

This project focused on drawing together a wider set of stakeholders, including Essex Police, the councils and schools as well as local groups in order to develop a more cohesive strategy that recognises specific local differences. The intention was to make the whole process inclusive and engage those actually affected to develop tailor-made solutions.

Engagement and action

The programme has helped Chelmsford City Council develop a set of considered solutions that improve the overall traffic position around schools. These include the commissioning of a design agency to co-create an overall brand identity to allow the council to communicate its plan easily to schools, alongside a set of communications materials which the school can use to implement and communicate the plan to parents and local residents.

Students at the relevant schools will be closely involved in the process which will add to their understanding of a design project, and the processes and disciplines involved in arriving at practical and viable solutions.

The success of the schemes will be measured through pre and post-research to ascertain how the remedies have worked. Tangible improvements to parking bottlenecks will also be identified. A number of different authorities will liaise with schools, rolling out this initiative will provide a central point of contact that is then able to easily connect schools to support networks, reducing the time and correspondence currently undertaken.

“We believe that this project will have a really positive impact on the communities’ attitudes and behaviours towards school parking. Firstly, it will improve safety and traffic problems at peak times of the day, which is a huge issue. But it will also increase community cohesion and reduce car journeys to school, meaning parents will choose healthier journeys to school. We’re excited to get started.”

Rosa Tanfield, Parking and Highways Liaison Manager, Chelmsford City Council

Chelmsford City Council has now engaged its first school, with which it will run a trial. Once reviewed, it will then target other schools where the parking issues are acute. The council is liaising with some local design companies, and stakeholders remain on board and are eager to proceed with the next stages on the project.

Update October 2016

Following a presentation on the initiative to the South Essex Parking Partnership Joint Committee, the members agreed to allocate the funding required to launch this project from prototype to full implementation.

A company called Partners by Design has been commissioned by the project team. Working with the Chelmsford City Council communications team and the stakeholder group, the design team was provided with a brief and an overview of the School Parking Initiative.

The first phase of the project was to create an overall identity brand that would represent the School Parking Initiative. After consideration of several design briefs and reworks, the stakeholder group were in full agreement that a new character call 3PR (the three parking rules) represented the aim of the School Parking Initiative.

It was agreed that the initial phase would concentrate on the primary school sector and therefore this character is intended to appeal to this age group. It has also been acknowledged that different branding and a different approach will be required for secondary schools.

The team validated the branding by sharing the design with all stakeholders, partner authorities and more importantly with the children of the pilot school. The new character has been very well received and the children were very positive and excited about the whole concept. Working with the school,stakeholders and the pupil’s, several ideas have been developed which the school is currently considering. There are lots of ideas around reward, team points, collecting badges and an annual cup in recognition of good parking practice and alternative means of travelling to school. The pilot school is also keen for pupils to monitor the parking and Chelmsford will be providing them with hi-vis vests and baseball caps bearing the 3PR branding.

The design team is also working on an interactive website/central information hub, with which all schools and pupils can engage. The idea is that the hub will provide the necessary information and tools for any school to launch their own school parking initiative. The website will provide an area for schools to share successes and new initiatives as they developed.

The council is currently agreeing a roll out programme to start prototyping the ideas. Each idea will be monitored and the level of success measured.

Contact

Nick Binder

South Essex Parking Partnership Manager

Chelmsford City Council

Email: [email protected]

Chelmsford logic model