A SCHEME that will make walking and cycling around a Southampton school is about to start.

Today, September 6, work will begin on making walking and cycling in the area around St Mark’s CE School in Shirley safer for everyone as the school expands.

St Mark’s CE School will become an all through school, with its first intake of year 7 pupils joining in September 2022.

The St Marks Active Travel Zone (ATZ) scheme constitutes a range of measures designed to make it safer and easier to walk and cycle in the local area.

The first stage, starting on 6 September 2021, will improve the walking route between residential areas to the north and south of Howard Road with a zebra crossing.

The zebra crossing will be supported by new continuous crossing facilities at the Stafford Road and Suffolk Avenue junctions and new areas of planting, to create a safer and more attractive walking environment.

A timed road closure on the northern section of Stafford Road (that only allows access for residents’ vehicles) as of September 20, will also support a future School Street for the expanded school. Some road resurfacing work is also planned for Stafford Road.

On Shirley Road, new continuous crossings at its junctions with Malmesbury Avenue, Cawte Road and Dyer Road, and a pedestrian crossing, will follow later in the Autumn.

The crossings will be supported by widened footways which will also enable a new shared-use path to be designated, providing safer walking and cycling facilities and better connections to St Mark’s CE School. Continuous crossings will be added at the junction of Malmesbury Avenue and Charlton Road soon after.

It comes after residents and businesses in the area around St Mark’s CE School were invited to work with designers and council staff in a series of online co-design workshops.

Works in the area of Stafford Road, Suffolk Road and Howard Road will be carried out in 4 phases.

Mrs Stephanie Bryant, Headteacher at St Mark’s CE School said: “At St Mark's we actively promote walking and cycling safely to school as part of Modeshift Stars active travel scheme.

"With the growth of the school to an all through school, I am pleased that these road changes will make active travel to school safer and reduce the need to travel by car, which will also benefit the local residents.”