School Streets
A School Street is where a team of volunteers (often parents and teachers together) close the street directly in front of the school entrance at drop off and pick up times.
Residents and blue badge holders still retain their access, but other vehicles are not permitted. This encourages parents and kids to walk, cycle, or scoot to school rather than drive, which has a multitude of positive impacts.
Southampton
School Streets have been successful in many cities across the UK, and have proved popular with parents, pupils and local residents alike. They can have an array of positive outcomes such as:
Reducing traffic in the immediate area, which makes it safer to walk and cycle to school
Improving the air quality at those times of day. Kids are particularly affected by traffic fumes as they are closer to the exhaust pipes, breathe faster and have immature lungs.
Regular walking and cycling lowers our risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, strokes, obesity, depression and other health issues. 35% of Year 6 children are classed as obese or overweight.
Kids that walk or cycle regularly have shown to have better concentration and less behavioural problems.
At one Southampton trial last year, 93% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the street felt safer to use, and 66% also agreed that the surrounding streets were less congested. As one Grandparent commented, “Being a child of the 50s, this is how we played. Days like today are great for children. It was good to tell my granddaughter how it used to be, she was amazed!”
For more information see https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/projects/2019/uk-wide/sustrans-school-streets