Southampton City Council will begin work this summer on a Safer Routes to School (SRTS) scheme around St Monica Primary School in Sholing. The scheme is designed to support more families to walk, wheel and cycle to school with safer and calmer streets around the school.

Developed over the past three years in partnership with the school and local community, the scheme responds to people’s concerns about traffic levels and road safety at the beginning and end of the school day.

Following consultation with the school and local community, construction of the final scheme is set to take place over the summer holidays, starting on 21 July. Throughout this process, local people highlighted the need for improvements around the bus stop at the south end of St Monica Road, congestion on Chapel Crescent and collisions at the junction of South East Road and Kathleen Road.

The scheme includes:

• A new zebra crossing on South East Road at St Monica Road to create a safe crossing point to get to school, shops and the church. This includes changes to the footway and making a ‘no entry’ into St Monica Road from South East Road
• A 20mph speed limit on several roads – with new speed cushions approaching the crossing on South East Road
• A School Street on St Monica Road and Maxwell Road that removes traffic at the beginning and end of the school day
• More dropped kerbs on St Monica Road  and Kathleen Road to improve accessibility to the school and bus stop
• Making Chapel Cresent one-way from its junction with South East Road with priority changes to junctions with Rothbury Close and Cunningham Crescent
• Road resurfacing on South East Road from the lay-by outside of the Co-op to near the junction with Kathleen Road. Resurfacing will also take place on sections of St Monica Road and at the Chapel Crescent/Rothbury Close junction.

The School Street on St Monica Road between Bay Road and South East Road will run Monday to Friday during term-time between 8 and 9:30am and 2:15 and 3:45pm.  It will also include Maxwell Road following people’s feedback received during the consultation. Under the School Street, access during restricted times will be limited to residents, school staff and other permitted vehicles with signs installed stating the operating hours.  It will be enforced by a camera from Wednesday 3 September 2026.

The Safer Routes to School programme in Southampton is helping to make getting to and from school safer, easier and calmer for everyone.  There are 19 School Streets in Southampton and St Monica’s will be the 20^th.  Making these changes encourages children, their parents and carers, and the community to build activity into their day where they can, helping them to thrive.  This supports our missions to deliver a safer, healthier and greener Southampton.

Councillor Jacqui Rayment, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “Keeping children safe on their journey to and from school is simply something that must be done. This scheme at St Monica Primary School is about giving families the confidence to walk, wheel or cycle by creating a safer, cleaner and calmer environment outside the school gates.

“School Streets have already made a real difference across Southampton, helping to cut congestion, improve air quality and make streets more welcoming for our communities. These new improvements bring that success to St Monica Primary School and support healthier, more sustainable travel choices for local families.”