“Park elsewhere” that’s the message from Sheffield school pupils who have taken part in a competition to design road safety bollard covers.

Young people from St Mary’s CE Primary in Walkley have been using their art skills to raise awareness about the dangers of parking on yellow zig zags outside school.

Two winning designs have been made into bollard covers which pupils have installed outside their school permanently.

Headteacher Karen Miller said: “We are so proud of the pupils’ creative skills and their road safety messages are there for the whole community to see.

“The designs will be a constant reminder to road users to make the right decisions as well as thinking about active travel options, and we hope that the messages will make a difference.

“Safe and responsible parking outside our school is key to keeping children safe and we continually encourage families to park away from the gates and never on the yellow zig zag lines.

“By working together, we can prevent collisions and give our families the safe roads and roadsides that they deserve.”



The competition was organised and funded by Sheffield City Council through its commitment to the ModeshiftSTARS scheme – a national accreditation scheme promoting active journeys and travel options in communities.

It is one of many STARS projects across the city and forms part as of the Council’s work to improve the safety of young people on their journey to school as well as outside the school gates.

STARS Officer Rosie Frazer, who works with schools across Sheffield, said: “Seeing the designs go from ideas on paper to being displayed on the roadside is just fantastic.

“It’s so important to give our young people a voice and for them to be part of the discussion around the way that parents use roads around school drop off and pick up.

“The more families that select active travel options, the less congestion there will be which in turn reduces hazards in the surrounding area.

“Active travel not only helps to make our roads safer, but it benefits our health and well-being and the environment. We really hope that these bollards will make an impact.”

A spokeswoman for the Safer Roads Partnership said: “We are so impressed by these designs and hope people will think twice about parking dangerously and putting lives at risk.

“This competition fits perfectly with our strategy and our long-term aspiration to achieve Vision Zero where no-one loses their life on our roads.

“Shared responsibility sits at the heart of our work and thanks to the creativity of St Mary’s pupils, they are reminding road users of their role in keeping people safe.”

To find out more about the Modeshift STARS scheme visit: modeshiftstars.org