Third '˜walking bus' to cut school traffic

The William Alvey School has tried a number of initiatives to deter waiting parents from obstructing pavements and the road outside the school.

This has included a pilot scheme where a CCTV van enforces against parking within the school safety zone and parking on cycle lanes. The Town Council has blocked parents parking on the drive down to the cemetery, and the school has also run initiatives encouraging parents to park in nearby car parks.

Now the school has announced its third ‘walking bus’ after securing funding for staff.

Headteacher Stephen Tapley explained: “We want to offer our families practical alternatives to using the car in the mornings. If you live in Sleaford you will know that Eastgate can get a little congested in the morning. In order to help with this we have put on three daily walking buses, free to our parents.”

Bus 1 meets in the NCCD car park at 8.30am. Bus 2 meets at the recreation ground on Boston Road at 8.25am. Bus 3 meets at the Spar on Grantham Road at 8.15am.

Mr Tapley said: “Each bus has been risk assessed and approved by the Road Safety Partnership. The staff are paid by the school to ensure that the ‘service’ runs daily. This means parents can drop their children off without adding to the congestion outside the school, there is obviously a health aspect to it and it also gives parents a little free child care too.

“Some days we have had 30 children using the three buses. All the children wear blue bibs with the William Alvey owl on the back, so you can wave to them if you see them.”