Jeremy Vine weighs-in on parent-led school road blockade

Parents and residents near St George’s RC Primary School have decided to stop “unnecessary” traffic from driving down Thorneloe Walk in a bid to make the road safer for children.

Now, radio and television presenter Jeremy Vine, who is well known for his advocacy of cycling on social media, has shared his thoughts on the action.

He said: “We need to move away from the idea that people who own large metal boxes get priority over the rest of us just because they have an accelerator pedal. It's nuts.”

READ MORE: Parents block road during school run after traffic chaos led to 'screams and shouts'

Councillors Hannah Cooper and Karen Lewing (each end) with parents and residents, Fleur Visser, Fiona Blake, Peter Sheeran and Isabelle Michel (Image: NQ)

The roadblock, which is being set up during school drop-off and pick-up times, was organised by Isabelle Michel, a local resident whose children used to attend the school.

She said: “This has been going on for years.

“I’ve witnessed countless vans and cars trying to go through but they can’t turn so they have to reverse into the school car park, it's mayhem.

“I help organise the bike bus every Friday and last week I realised how bad it was, in fact, it was so bad we had to change routes.”

Campaigners want to see Thorneloe Walk made a School Street, a government initiative aimed at reducing traffic near schools and encouraging people to walk and cycle instead.

City councillor Karen Lewing was among those at the blockade on Monday morning (June 26).

She added: “School Streets are popping up around the country, but the county council does not yet have a policy.

“They say they are working on one but they’re not working as fast as we would like.”

Councillor Mike Rouse, cabinet member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport at Worcestershire County Council, said they are currently working to provide guidance to schools around the School Streets Scheme but has urged people not to take matters into their own hands.

He added: “School Streets and similar initiatives need the support of the school and the local community together in order to become formalised and be successful in the long term. 

“School Streets are just one way of encouraging active travel by walking and cycling to and from our schools, we have also achieved this in areas around the county by installing crossing points, and dropping nearby kerbs to allow easier access to do this.”

“We cannot condone the unilateral actions taken by campaigners to effectively blockade a road without a permit and without permission.

“Where actions like this have happened elsewhere we see a rise in community tensions, so we call on all those involved to work with us constructively and not to take the law and road safety into their own hands.”