TRAVELLING to school without the car has got a little easier and safer at a Reigate primary beset by school-run congestion.
Wray Common Primary School won £6,000 of funding from Surrey County Council for a new gate and pedestrian pathway.
It is the latest attempt by the school to encourage pupils and parents not to drive in.
The Kendal Close school's location in a residential cul-de-sac means it is particularly affected by congestion, which has led to stand-up rows in the street between frustrated parents.
And having taken three "bulge" years since 2009, the school has 90 extra children coming and going than it did four years ago.
School business manager Julie Newton said: "We have got quite a few initiatives to encourage people. We started a new one this year called Walk Around The World where children get badges if they manage to walk in once a week. It is a big challenge."
The school is delighted with the new access route, which was unveiled earlier this month.
"We have got a 'D' where people drive in one gate, drop their children off and go out through another gate," said Mrs Newton. "The new gate and pathway means people don't have to walk across where cars are coming out.
"This improvement work is part of the continued actions of the school's travel plan which aims to encourage more families to walk, scoot or cycle to school and ultimately to reduce the number of cars trying to park, often dangerously or illegally, in the roads around the school every day," she added.
Funding for the extra access route came from the county council's Sustainability Fund. The school's travel group, made up of interested parents and staff, will now concentrate its efforts on finding funding for other initiatives to encourage more families to ditch the car.
Councillors on Surrey County Council's local committee for Reigate and Banstead have also approved new parking restrictions in the roads around the school.
