Definitions

A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic.

schoolstreets.org.uk

A program that creates a car-free environment in front of schools at the start and end of the school day to prioritize safe walking conditions for children, their caregivers and teachers.

880 Cities, Capital Regional District (CRD) and the City of Victoria - School Streets Guidebook (2019)

Benefits of School Streets

• Aims to increase the safety of a vulnerable group
• Improved wellbeing of students as observed by head teachers that receiving and returning children as smoother, safer and calmer
• Improved road safety around schools from inconsiderate parking and dangerous vehicle movements
• Reduced traffic and congestion during the "school run"
• Reduction in air pollution around the school gates due to reduced vehicle idling
• Encourages active transport, sustainable transportation and independent mobility into lifestyles
• School Streets provide an opportunity to start the conversation with our youngest residents and embed the walking and cycling culture into their daily lives.
• Encourages connected communities and social interaction as individuals access community resources and build social networks that may be missed while in a car
• Opportunity to increase the cohesion of the community
• Relatively simple, low cost solutions compared to other road schemes

Concerns and issues to consider / resolve

• How can congestion and air pollution not just be moved to other areas?
• Route to school beyond the "school street zone" may be a hostile built environment or not amenable to walking and cycling
• Will an increase in traffic as intelligent routing systems send more traffic down school streets?
• Some designs of School Streets projects maybe resource intensive requiring the recruitment of volunteers, nominate staff etc
• May not fit in with the busy routine and requirements of parents or carers
• Allocation of school places may mean that the child's school is a significant distance from their home 

Debate

School Streets - Should they become a permanent feature of our landscape?

Interview

Hackney runs the UK’s largest School Streets programme - with 84% of the borough’s primary schools and 15% of secondary schools participating in a scheme that restricts vehicle access to nearby streets at pinch points during the school day. We speak to Doolin O’Reilly, Principal Sustainable Transport Planner, Hackney Council

Webinars: Exclusive to CIHT Members

Transport Planning for School Children – Problems and Solutions - 8 June 2022

Listen to the Exeter Emerging Professionals Group as we consider transport planning for school children.

Louis Brown, University of the West of England, presents his research on traffic-related air pollution reduction at UK schools as a consequence of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Liz Holloway, Devon County Council, presents on some of the best school streets initiatives delivered in Devon and explain how they have benefitted children and their communities.

Case Studies Exclusive to Members

Solihull School Streets was shortlisted for the CIHT Healthy Transport Award 2020

Waltham Forest School Streets was shortlisted for the CIHT Healthy Transport Award 2021

TfL School Streets was commended for the CIHT Healthy Transport Award 2022

Insight

We ask those at the forefront of change the key questions business leaders and aspiring professionals need answered. In this Spotlight we ask about School for Streets, their future, challenges faced, solutions and what leaders need to be thinking about now and much more,

Gemma Hearsum, Safe and Active Travel Officer, London Borough of Waltham Forest

Annabel Matharu, Sustainable Travel Officer, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Asa Thomas, PhD Researcher, Active Travel Academy, University of Westminster

Liz Holloway, Senior Transport Planning Officer, Planning, Transportation and Environment, Devon County Council

Key Takeaways

For school streets to be effective they require

• Involve the school community as much as possible in the design and implementation of a scheme
• Positive engagement with communities with clear channels of feedback to produce unique and flexible schemes which tackle the concerns of the communities and stakeholders
• Ensuring a scheme is appropriately designed for the specific needs of the school and goals of the policy
• Ongoing communication to share the benefits and success of the schemes to reinforce the value of the project and gain support for permanent implementation and encourage other schools begin to request the implementation of a School Street
• Provision of toolkits including equipment, high viz, signage, guidance etc
• Issue a memorandum of understanding to the schools which defines the responsibilities of each party
• To be part of a wider behaviour change programme and clean air strategies of complementary activities across departments so reach of benefits are extended and inclusive.  Examples include include cycle training, pedestrian training, protected cycle routes, crossing improvements, low traffic neighbourhoods and initiatives such as Walking Busses and Park & Stride schemes.
• Consistent and effective enforcement such as ANPR cameras or modal filters

Further reading and useful links

Recommended Websites

School Streets Initiative (UK)

Living Streets - Safer Routes to Schools

Mums for Lungs - School Streets

Resources

TFL School Streets evaluation (2021) - School Streets: Intervention Sites vs. Control Sites Full Report January 2021 (PDF)

School Streets Air Quality Study - Air Quality Monitoring Study: London School Streets March 2021 (PDF)

Adrian Davis, Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University - School Street Closures and Traffic Displacement Project: A Literature Review with Semi-Structured Interviews (2021) 

Hackney School Streets Toolkit (2021 Edition)

880 Cities, Capital Regional District (CRD) and the City of Victoria - School Streets Guidebook (2019)

Anna Solderer & Irene Senfter, Ökoinstitut Südtirol/Alto Adige Genossenschaft - The school streets of Bolzano (2020) (PPT) and video of presentation

Videos

Hackney Council - Hackney School Streets 

Tom Edwards, BBC London "School streets" grow in the capital

Mums for Lungs School Streets

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The opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the CIHT or its members. Neither the CIHT nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.