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 the cycle of traffic to slow the traffic and this has been shown to be successful elsewhere.
“There will be exemptions in place for different groups who require that access and the feedback so far has been really positive.”
The short-term closure proposal comes in response to repeated discussions between various local groups over the issue of parking around the school and commuter parking.
A consultation from Stirling Council in 2019 proposed the set up of a ‘Controlled Parking Zone’ on the streets, however Riverside Community Council argued the proposed solutions were not acceptable and further consultation was required with residents.
The community council’s active travel group launched a community-wide survey later that year which highlighted several issues with parking around the area as well as other issues, with questions around the measures in place at Riverside Primary among those raised.
In June last year, their parking group gathered to identify problems and solutions with parking in the area, with these handed to Stirling Council and then Living Streets for review.
It prompted a £34,000 grant for further consultation in the area and the implementation of parking solutions in partnership with the charity.
The discussions between the council and Living Streets took place near the end of 2021 and into the early part of 2022, with the proposal for the three-day closure drawn up following those discussions.
A Stirling Council spokesman said: “The council has been involved in discussions about this proposal and the project is being taken forward by Living Streets in consultation with the community in Riverside.”
