Schools fear 'zone-dodger' rat runs

Congestion charging in London, now only four weeks away, is supposed to reduce traffic on the capital's roads, but the reality for tens of thousands of people is that the problem will get worse.

Transport for London, which is overseeing the controversial £200m scheme, admits that roads bordering the zone can expect increases in traffic as motorists seek routes that will avoid the daily £5 charge. Or as Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, says, "around the edges it's going to be awful".

Christ Church Bentinck Church of England primary school in Marylebone is one of about 25 schools threatened with more traffic. It is only 100 yards outside the zone, in a street off Marylebone Road that is sure to become far busier once charging begins on 17 February.

The head teacher, Sarah Bourn, is planning special road safety lessons for her pupils because she is so worried. She also fears the charge will make it even harder for her to hire staff, and that air and noise pollution will become far worse.

"We already have a lot of traffic that diverts off Marylebone Road and comes right past the school," she said. "I'm very concerned about what's going to happen if jams build up as people try to avoid the zone."

Like all primary school pupils, the 275 who attend Christ Church Bentinck are given lessons in road safety, but Miss Bourn said she was planning to talk to them about the added dangers they will face. "They need to understand that they are going to have to be extra careful."

For motorists heading into London on the A40, a right turn off Marylebone Road will take them into the zone. Transport for London admits that this will make what is already one of London's most clogged stretches even worse.

Roads such as Cosway Street, where Christ Church Bentinck stands at the western end of Marylebone Road, are expected to fill with traffic seeking an alternative route.

On Friday, parents arriving with their children, the majority of whom walk to school, were dismayed. "It's bad enough as it is," said Paula Irwin, who has a seven-year-old daughter and three-year-old son at the school. "There's already far too much traffic coming up here."

Lorraine Ward, with daughters aged eight and 10 at the school, agreed. "We need bumps in the road and a lollipop lady. The trouble is these days that motorists simply don't want to know about pedestrians. Everyone is in such a hurry." But Vicki Soderberg, mother of eight-year-old Christina, said: "I'm all for the congestion charge. I would make the zone much bigger. I'd ban cars completely from central London."

Another mother added that some parents weren't helping by "driving their children to school when they only live a 10-minute walk away".

For Miss Bourn, already struggling to maintain staff numbers, the charge threatens to deter even more would-be teachers. She also believes the scheme has not been thought through: "Ken Livingstone should have got public transport running much more efficiently before he started congestion charging."

Transport for London believes its "dynamic traffic-management systems" can prevent the fringe problems. It has set aside up to £30m to deal with areas just outside the zone, and has a £6m schools programme intended to create "safe routes" and encourage "walking buses", a system in which parents collect others' children at prearranged points and everyone walks to school in a crocodile. But at Christ Church Bentinck, they have their doubts.