More 20mph zones around Sunderland's schools

Sunderland City Council is introducing the zones around ten schools to further improve road safety.

Work has started on introducing a 20mph speed limit outside of the following schools:

• Ashbrooke School
• Farringdon Academy
• Fulwell Juniors
• Houghton Community Nursery
• Portland Academy
• Redby Primary and St Benets RC
• Springwell Dene Link School
• St Anthony's and Thornhill Academy
• St John Boste RC
• St Joseph's RC

This follows a programme of school 20mph zones introduced throughout Sunderland, with the majority of the city's schools now benefiting from a 20mph zone.  

These are in addition to existing school safety measures such as 'School Keep Clear' markings and other forms of traffic calming.

The new 20mph areas have gateway signs which signal the start and end points of the zones with 20mph roundels on the ground throughout.

Councillor Rebecca Atkinson, Cabinet Member for Dynamic City at Sunderland City Council said: "These 20mph traffic schemes can improve road safety and reduce the severity of injuries if an accident does occur.

"Placing these zones outside schools helps us to not only protect children, but also other vulnerable road users such as the elderly and those who have hearing and visual impairments.

"Research shows that slower traffic speeds help to reduce the risk of collisions and injuries and ultimately make our streets safer."

Speed restrictions have also been shown to make areas more attractive places to live, and having 20mph speed zones helps to increase walking or cycling and benefits the community.