Riverside streets set for rush-hour closure in effort to tackle school parking issues

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Busy streets around Riverside Primary could face being closed at peak times as part of a trial aiming to resolve long-standing parking issues.The plans have been formed in the wake of escalating problems with traffic relating to both commuter parking and also around the primary school.The latest step will see Alexandra Place, Forrest Road and sections of some adjoining streets shut to cars between 8.30am and 9.15am and then again between 3pm and 3.30pm.Organisers of the move are hoping it will make the streets safer to children, as well as incentivising more pupils to walk to school.The Living Streets charity are leading the plans after delivering similar projects in Moray and Edinburgh, with representatives visiting the school last week to meet parents as part of a public consultation before the closure is rolled out ahead of the Easter break.Living Streets Scotland’s schools and projects coordinator Chris Thompson said: “Stirling are trialling this move and it’s aimed at improving safety and making it an area where the pupils are prioritised and where things are calmed because traffic can’t go past at rush hour.“We’re looking to have a consultation with the Riverside community because closing these streets can push traffic elsewhere so we need to understand that.“The plan is to have a short trial before the Easter break of three days to see how that plays out, there will then be another questionnaire on that and possibly a committee report sent to Stirling Council.“We’ve been at the issue of promoting more people to walk to school for a while and it can help make young people more fit and active in the process.“The main objective is to make things safer and that’s often something cited by parents, so we need to break