Fife Council admit safety scheme in Cardenden has not worked

Fife Council's £18,000 pilot scheme at Denend PS was in response to calls from worried parents but compliance dropped as police didn't enforce the restrictions and staff reduced their marshalling duties due to "verbal abuse and disregard by drivers".

There was also an "unverified" report that a parent was "hit by a vehicle" in the exclusion zone and, instead of encouraging more kids to walk, cycle or scoot to school it had the opposite effect, with an increase in parents opting to take the car or send them by bus.

John Mitchell, head of roads and transportation at the council, said there was a consensus among officers, local councillors and school staff that the trial had "not been successful in achieving its objectives" and would not be extended.

The traffic exclusion trial outside Denend Primary School in Cardenden has not been successful, Fife Council have admitted. (Image: Google Maps) In November 2021 the council agreed to trial a 'school exclusion zone' (SEZ) and Denend was chosen as parents had campaigned for traffic to be banned outside the school, which also has a nursery, after a number of near misses with kids and cars.

Vehicles were banned on School Lane at drop-off and pick-up times, with St Marie's in Kirkcaldy and Pitcoudie in Glenrothes also included in the pilot scheme, which ran from November 2022 to May 2024.

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The purpose was to improve road safety by cutting car journeys and and encouraging more 'active travel' - walking, cycling or scooting to class - while the drop in exhaust emissions would help improve air quality.

But Mr Mitchell said: "There has been no clear evidence from the data collected that the trial school exclusion zone has materially improved environmental conditions around the school."

His report to the Cowdenbeath area committee said there was "very low compliance" with the restrictions and locals weren't convinced there was any improvement in road safety.

And he noted: "It should be clear that a permanent SEZ at this school or at other schools will have limited success based on lack of police enforcement, and lack of school or community resources to marshal the site."

Before the trial began, 51 per cent of consultation respondents thought it would lead to more children opting to walk, cycle or scoot to school and 76 per cent felt it would make the areas outside the school gates safer.

In 2021 the parent council at Denend Primary School and Nursery in Cardenden were pushing for the streets to be car-free during school hours. (Image: Newsquest) READ MORE: 'Dramatic reduction' in number of complaints about Mossmorran

One year in and this fell to 18 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

After 14 months of the trial, the morning drop-off traffic volume was actually up by 21 per cent in the restricted street, compared to before the trial began.

On the other hand, the afternoon traffic at Denend was down by 16 per cent.

Active travel to school - walking, cycling and scooting - fell from 49 per cent to 42 per cent while park and stride also reduced from 28 per cent to 23 per cent.

The percentage of pupils driven to Denend, despite the SEZ being in force, went up from 15 to 16 per cent and bus use more than doubled from nine to 19 per cent.

Mr Mitchell's report said: "Lack of enforcement seems to be the primary concern expressed. Traffic management have requested enforcement on several occasions from the police.

"Confirmation from the police has been received that during the trial period no fixed penalty notices were issued and that regular deployments to schools cannot be committed to."