A new scheme has been officially launched in Lees in a bid to improve road safety for schoolchildren.
The "School Street" at Hey with Zion Primary School and St Edwards RC Primary School is the first in Greater Manchester to use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to enforce safe travel practices.
The launch took place on Wednesday, November 13, with a special celebration attended by council leader, Cllr Arooj Shah, and Dame Sarah Storey, active travel commissioner for Greater Manchester.
They joined students, parents, and staff to mark the start of the initiative aimed at making school travel safer and more sustainable.
The School Street programme is part of a wider ambition to enable children to walk, wheel, scoot, and cycle safely to school.
Cllr Shah said: "This School Street is about putting our children’s health and safety first.
"We’ve already seen positive changes in Lees, with more families opting for sustainable travel and children gaining a safer route to school.
"Oldham is proud to lead in initiatives like this, setting a new standard for school travel in Greater Manchester."
The event began with Cllr Shah and Dame Sarah meeting families and the headteachers from St Edward's and Hey with Zion, as well as other local councillors.
Afterwards, a special assembly was held where pupils received Bee Network badges from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) as a reminder of the importance of road safety.
The Lees School Street has received enthusiastic feedback from the community since its launch, with many parents highlighting a reduction in congestion and a safer environment for children walking, cycling, or scooting to school.
"It is fantastic to visit Oldham to see how they are leading the way with the use of ANPR cameras as part of this School Street, and I look forward to hearing feedback and using that to enable other local authorities to make use of this technology where possible."
The council hopes the School Street will inspire more schools across the borough to explore setting up their own.
The local authority encourages any school communities in Greater Manchester interested in opening a new School Street to find out more or register their interest.
They can do this through the School Streets section of the TfGM Bee Active website.
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