Parents want more school streets…

New data commissioned by the Clean Cities Campaign shows that parents of children aged 18 and under are three times as likely to find the school run stressful as meeting their line manager at work and almost twice as likely as commuting to work.

It coincides with the launch in London of a Europe-wide campaign to urge city leaders to create thousands of new ‘school streets’ across the continent.

The campaign received the backing of Will Norman, the Mayor of London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner who said: “School streets are a brilliant approach to cleaning up the air around schools making it safe on the road so kids can walk, cycle or scoot rather than take the car.”

When asked about the school run, parents would much rather walk or cycle with their children to school, with nearly six in 10 saying that walking or cycling is the best way to spend quality time with their children, while only one in 10 said driving is a way to spend quality time with their children.

“Increased safety and cleaner air are listed as the biggest potential benefits of school streets, according to the polling.

Clean Cities Campaign urged local government leaders to commit to install ‘school streets’ or similar measures, where the road space outside a school is temporarily closed to traffic across every school.

Mr Norman said: “Currently the school run accounts for a quarter of morning traffic in London, and this is why School Streets – which encourage walking, cycling and scooting – play such a vital role in driving down congestion, air pollution and road danger.

“In the capital we have seen the massive difference School Streets have made to our communities alongside strong support from Londoners, with more than half of London’s five-11 year olds now walking to school.

“Research shows that this reduces nitrogen dioxide by up to 23 per cent during the morning school drop-off.

“There are now more than 500 School Streets across the capital and we know that children, parents and councils are keen to introduce even more.”

The ‘Streets for Kids’ initiative, has been developed by a coalition of 60 environmental groups across Europe co-ordinated by the Clean Cities Campaign and in collaboration with Kidical Mass.

There are around 500 school streets in London and a recent study by the Greater London Authority showed how they can reduce nitrogen dioxide (from diesel cars) up to 23 per cent, while substantially reducing traffic throughout the day.

They are also popular with parents – two thirds of parents and carers at schools without School Street measures support their implementation, according to research by Transport for London (TfL) while 81 per cent of those surveyed at schools where measures had been implemented believed a School Street is suitable for their school.

Oliver Lord, UK head of Clean Cities Campaign said: “School streets” are an important element of zero-emission mobility, providing more space for people and reducing car dependency in cities.

There are 500 in London, 170 in Paris, 120 in Barcelona.

“We’re calling on city leaders across Europe to commit to reducing traffic outside schools.

“Temporary road closures during pick-up and drop-off – known as school streets – are one of the best ways to reduce children’s exposure to air pollution and road danger, as well as helping them walk, scoot and cycle to school.

“Fewer cars around schools in the morning also means more reliable bus journeys and more space for businesses that need to use the roads.”

Jhilmil Kishore, a parent governor at St James CE Primary School in Southwark, said: “The school street is extremely pleasant, the kids are so excited, my daughter is so excited about it especially with the pop up cafe today.

“It’s about better safety, it’s about less pollution, and it makes the space more interactive, children and parents are talking to each other before and after school much more. It really makes it a much more happy school drop off.”

Jemima Hartshorn, Founder of Mums for Lungs said: “All the evidence clearly shows that school streets reduce children’s exposure to air pollution and indeed, encourages parents to travel to school without a car.

“We have been campaigning for them for years and this data further spurs our enthusiasm to do more of that.

“But we also need to see more action –- like green screens and controlled parking to clean up the air at schools where School Streets are unsuitable.”

 

Picture: Michal Zacharzewski/RGBstock