School streets scheme a success says Mayor of London

By Joe Talora, Local Democracy Reporter

School streets schemes have significantly reduced pollution and are supported by the majority of parents, a new study has found.

The schemes, which involve temporarily closing roads near schools during drop-off and pick-up times, have seen levels of nitrogen dioxide fall by up to 23 per cent and are supported by 81 per cent of parents.

The research, published by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, involved installing 30 sensors at 18 primary schools in Brent, Enfield and Lambeth to record levels of nitrogen dioxide.

The Kingfisher Hall Academy in Enfield saw levels of nitric oxide fall by 34 per cent and nitrogen dioxide by 23 per cent as a result of the school streets scheme in place there, the study found.

Sadiq Khan said: “I am doing everything in my power to stop Londoners breathing air so filthy that it damages children’s lungs and causes thousands of premature deaths every year. Since 2016, there has been a 97 per cent reduction in the number of schools in areas that exceed the legal pollution limit and I’m committed to bringing that number down to zero.

“School Streets play an important role in enabling parents and children to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school which has so many benefits, not least in improving air quality. It’s great to see the huge reduction in nitrogen dioxide during pick up and drop off on schools streets – a time where countless children and adults would otherwise be exposed to dangerous emissions.

“Too many lives are already lost each year as a result of our city’s toxic air and the results of our monitoring study show just how much of a difference reducing car journeys through School Streets makes.”

A recent report from the London Assembly and the Environmental Defence Fund found that 14 primary schools in London were in areas that matched or exceeded the legal limit of nitrogen dioxide pollution, with all of them located within inner London.

Nine schools that exceeded the legal limits for pollution were within 100 metres of a red route, the report found, with levels of nitrogen dioxide up to 25 per cent higher.

The report also found that levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution varied during the school day with a significant peak during the morning school run, with road transport being the leading contributor of PM2.5 pollution.

So far, almost 350 school streets have been set up in London with the aim of reducing pollution from road traffic.