A plan that could introduce “school streets” throughout the borough could soon be put to residents to have their say.

“School streets” typically involve stopping cars and other motor vehicles driving on streets leading to schools around the start and end of the day. If measures come in, it could mean that Wokingham Borough Council imposes temporary restrictions on motorised traffic around schools.

The plan says it wants to encourage children to take more active methods of getting to school.

It says: “To enable more walking, cycling and wheeling to school and to promote increased physical activity in young people, we will develop a sustainable routes to school strategy.

“This will look at public transport and active travel access to schools and where targeted changes could improve access and safe routes for all that enable and support independent access to schools, shops and other amenities. We will also investigate locations to introduce school streets.”

READ MORE: Wokingham Borough Council could trial school streets

The proposals are part of a draft plan to improve transport and reduce traffic on Wokingham borough roads. Known as the Local Transport Plan, it will form the basis for how the council manages roads, streets and public transport for years to come.

Its goals include getting 50 per cent of all journeys in town centres to be made by “active travel” – walking, cycling or wheeling – by 2030, and reducing pollution to “net zero” carbon emissions.

The draft also suggests that new 20 miles per hour speed limits could be introduced in towns across the borough, and that new or improved walking and cycling routes could be developed.

A survey of residents and organisations by Wokingham Borough Council found support for measures to reduce traffic and improve pedestrian safety.

It found only a third of residents felt that children can walk and cycle to school safely, and more than 90 per cent felt that pedestrian safety is a top priority in town centres.

READ MORE: Calls for 20mph speed limits near Bracknell schools

But just 48 per cent of residents said they would accept “slightly longer” journeys by car to make it safer to walk or cycle to school. Some 32 per cent disagreed, and 20 per cent felt neutral.

Council documents suggest that bringing in all of the measures proposed in the plan will depend to a large extent on government grants and funding secured from housing developers as part of planning permission agreements.

But the only guaranteed source of funding is the “integrated transport block” – an annual pot of cash councils get from the government’s department for transport.

Wokingham borough’s leading group of councillors – the executive committee – is set to meet on Thursday, November 28, and agree to launch a residents’ consultation on the plans.