We've also got a School Street outside my daughter's primary school in Putney (and extending past one of the neighbouring schools).
The council had been doing nothing for 18 months and so XR got involved and just brought along a couple of "Chapter 8" barriers and stopped anyone trying to drive along those roads, asked them where they were going and convinced most who didn't need access to drive the obvious alternative route. The vast majority of people were happy about it.
The alternative route is simple, it's literally closing off two sides of a rectangle, so if you want to go to the opposite corner of the rectangle you just use the other two roads. That's it.
A rota of parents will be taking over manning the barriers although the council took the signs down to change them slightly (they'd missed off putting "term time only" on them) and haven't put them back up yet.
I stood in the road for the morning and afternoon shifts yesterday, with no signs, and just holding a hiviz jacket (actually it was my PBP'09 gilet) and that alone had a good effect as many people just assumed I was there to warn people about a builders merchant delivery or something else blocking the road.
I even helped one parent who parked on the corner of a junction with hazard lights on to drop off his children. When he came back I pointed out that the parking restrictions aren't in place until 9.30 (this was 8.45) and so he could park in any number of free bays with no chance of getting a ticket. If he kept on parking on the corner like he did he'd risk getting a ticket for parking illegally. At first he was a bit miffed (at being told he was doing it wrong, which is often incompatible with being a man) but realised I was actually trying to help him.
(The two roads in the school street scheme have parking restrictions from 8.30am to stop people using them for school drop-off and pick-up).
But the number of complaints from some of the residents. It's amazing, and all based on them assuming it means something completely different to what it actually means.
"What about residents?!?" - they can still drive on the roads for access
"But what about disabled people?" - they can still drive on the roads for access
"What about delivery drivers?" - if they need to deliver large items they can, if there are small items we'd prefer it if they could do it on foot
"What about access to the clinic and RSPCA hospital on those roads? - that's access, that'll be fine
In the first few days of XR doing it (before the signs appeared) a couple of residents called the Police, who turned up, chatted to XR and left them to it.
On Thursday morning I had one local resident, who lives just inside the school street area, come out, get in her car, drive it once round the block (so through the whole of the school street zone) and then sit with the car idling for 20 minutes. I'm guessing she was trying to goad me to come over to talk to her but I couldn't really give a shit. (Although I was hoping a parking attendant would come along and give her a ticket for idling.)
If there's any further silliness I'm planning on arranging a bunch of parents to turn up on bikes each morning and cycle back and forth along the streets (they're not really narrow enough for a car to overtake a cyclist) at 5mph for the time the school streets are in use. Anyone ignoring the signs and driving through will just have to plod along behind them.