Winstree Road and Villa Road

Creating Safer Streets around Winstree Road and Villa Road

In 2024 we engaged with the local school communities on Winstree Road and Villa Road to help us understand what measures could be implemented to make the area safer, greener and healthier. This is the second phase of healthy school street developments on Winstree Road. Phase 1 works can be found here.

We gathered feedback from the school community including parents, pupils, residents, businesses and school staff as well as nearby streets around the area which encompasses four schools: Stanway Primary School, The Stanway School, Lexden Springs Residential Special School and Stanway Fiveways Primary School.

With Active Travel England funding, in February 2025 the following improvements were made:

• Zebra crossing outside Stanway Primary School on Villa Road to improve conditions crossing the road, particularly from the park and stride side (Stanway Community Centre).
• School Street Enforcement – officers are more frequently enforcing restrictions as well as encouraging considerate parking
• Promotion of park and stride sites:
  • Co-op Springwood Drive, Peartree Road
  • Stanway Community Centre on Villa Road
• Bikeability Training – Cycle safety training for pupils

What’s we've also offered the schools:

• School Travel Plans – We’re supporting schools to create or continue their plans with help from our Travel Plan team
• Active Travel Pledges – We encourage pupils to sign these each year to promote healthy, sustainable travel
• Car Sharing Materials – Encouraging families to share lifts where possible
• Sustainable Travel Route Maps – Helping families find the best walking and cycling routes
• Pedestrian Road Safety Training – Teaching children how to stay safe on foot
• Educational Materials – Including resources on air quality and anti-idling

Priorities for future funding include:

• New parking restrictions
• Further option for enforcement
• Further park and stride sites

We also conducted a parking survey to gather the views of parents, staff and residents about parking in the area. Key findings revealed:

• Levels of walking and driving to school were almost equal among parents/carers but the majority of staff drive.
• 38% of parents/carers stated they walk their child to school whilst 37% stated they travel by car or car share. 67% of staff drive.
• The Co-op car park on Peartree Road was the most popular Park and Stride facility.
  This was the most popular among the 7% of parents/carers who use Park and Stride.
• Most on-road parking on Winstree Road is caused by parents/carers collecting or dropping off their children at school which results in residents experiencing problems accessing their driveways.
• Of the 37% of parents/carers who drive to school, the majority (46%) park on Winstree Road.
• 72% of residents stated that they experience problems accessing their driveways at dropoff and pick-up times.
• Awareness of whether a school has a Travel Plan or offers Park and Stride options was low among both parents/carers and staff.
• 74% of parents/carers and 83% of staff were unaware of school travel plans.
• 62% of parents/carers were unaware of Park and Stride options.
• Over three quarters (82%) of parents/carers and 77% of staff stated that they would prefer to stick with their current mode of transport.
• When it comes to addressing parking issues, residents were split equally about what could be done. 23% supported increased enforcement, 23% supported encouraging parents/carers to walk and 23% supported the introduction of new parking restrictions such as double red lines.

Read the full parking study report.