There has been a lot of talk about school streets in the sustainable cities sphere of late, but what does the term really mean, and why are school streets necessary? We gen up on the basics.
By now, most people know that roads are built to prioritise the movement of motorised traffic, which is problematic. Major issues include:
- Exhaust emissions contributing to air pollution and climate change
- Imposed limitations for the mobility of people – just think of lengthy waits at pedestrian crossings
- Exacerbating gender, race, and wealth inequalities as affluent white men are most likely to travel independently by car
- Physical dangers that moving vehicles pose, especially for children.
In terms of systemic change and urban planning, these are challenges that the feminist city movement sets in its sights, but they can also be addressed at a micro-level with school streets.
What is a School Street?
There’s no strict definition of a school street. The first ever was created in 1989, in Bolzano, Italy, and although there are now more than 1,000 across the global – more than half of which are in the UK – the principles haven’t changed much in 35 years.
Transport planner Luisina Perassi tells us that the fundamental idea of school streets is to improve safety so that “kids can walk or cycle to school. And if they live further away, they can be dropped at the edge of that area and walk or cycle from there.”
In a reference guide she wrote for creating safer streets in Australia, Luisina clarifies that school streets are not only the roads that run alongside the school grounds but should be thought of as the zone which runs between 200 and 500 metres from the gates.
Working on this extended proximity is sensible, as the air pollution young people are exposed to during the school run can be five times higher than elsewhere and that seeps into classrooms where children and staff breath it in.
While the problems are universal, there’s no one-size-fits-all model for a school street. What works in one city or for one school may not work for another. Getting it right is all about adapting measures to local conditions, and not just to improve pedestrian access.
Co-creator of the first school street in Łódź, Poland, architect and parent Karolina Taczalska explains that small infrastructure can be installed that beautify spaces and make them more pleasurable to move around and be in.
If the ‘safe’ is not very attractive, kids are not going to be keen to walk to school.
Luisina Perassi
Trends in School Streets
The following are common features of school streets:
Access
- Restricting access for vehicles permanently or during rush hours/school drop-off and pick-up times to minimise danger to pupils.
- Traffic calming installations like bollards, benches, trees, sculptures, and planters can stop through traffic and prevent cars mounting the kerb but grant access for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Clearly marked designated drop off/pick up zones for delivery drivers, parents, and people using mobility aids, so they can retain access without the need for streetside parking.
Space
- Roads formerly dominated by vehicles may be converted into bike lanes and wide pavements, green areas, play areas, and seating spaces.
- These facitilities invite pupils to engage in active mobility.
- School streets transform areas into safe spaces where children, parents, and the wider citizenry can be, move, wait, meet friends, converse, and play.
- Where vehicles are allowed, encouraging drivers to cease idling helps develop clean air zones around schools, where it’s safer to breathe.
Enforcement
- Barriers – whether temporary or permanent – control when traffic can enter school streets. It may differ throughout the day.
- Limiting vehicle access to 20mph/35kmh on roads radiating from school areas significantly reduces risk of accident and harm.
- Speed cameras, fines, and the presence of enforcement officer patrols are known to improve compliance with new regulations and prevent violations.
The Reality of School Streets
Other than the possibility of blocking off a lengthy patch of road or a stretch measuring 500 metres, few of these strategies are of any considerable size. That makes them easier to implement.
So, why wouldn’t councils – who usually have to sign off on the change to road layouts and traffic flows – jump at the idea? After all, a school street almost guarantees protection for some of their most vulnerable citizens. Which is backed up by data, at least in the UK:
- 1,200 children are injured in traffic incidents within 500 metres of a UK school every month.
- Most of these casualties occur during drop off and pick up times (8:00–9:00 & 15:00–16:00).
- Almost a third of drivers observed displayed unsafe behaviours outside schools, including 10% distracted by mobile telephones.
Remove the cars, remove the danger.
Benefits of School Streets
School streets offer many proven advantages. The Mums for Lungs group has campaigned for the implementation of school streets in boroughs of London since 2016, with definitive results.
“They reduce driven journeys to school by 18 per cent,” Claire McDonald tells us. The knock-on effect is that it “reduces air pollution by 26 per cent” – a decline she regards as a “game-changer”.
Closing off traffic – even if that’s only for part of the day – improves the feeling of safety and reclaims space where young and old are happier to walk, ride, scoot, cycle, and roll. This uptick in active travel is beneficial for mental and physical development and school attainment, the Mums for Lungs website claims. Because their routes to school are less noisy and chaotic, children can socialise on the way, coming to class calmer and ready to learn. No wonder teachers report arriving at school less stressed.
Challenges That Remain
City decision-makers can be reluctant to implement school streets, though. Any new costs, however small, can be hard for some councils to cover in their increasingly squeezed annual budgets.
Karolina disputes this, saying that interventions need not be expensive. And in the long run, making spaces for people, not heavy vehicles, helps reduce wear and tear on road infrastructure, cutting the councils maintenance and repair costs.
As with any car-free street, there can be resistance from those who defy change in the community too, such as commuters and local business owners. Usually that fades away and even die-hard car advocates struggle to deny children’s right to personal safety or access to clean air.
In the video below, a local police lieutenant from Bolzano praises the city council’s “courage” for closing off the streets outside schools long enough for the backlash to subside and the benefits to become clear. Many of the measures they introduced in the early 1990s can still be seen in school streets today.
Setting Up School Streets: Guidance to Get Started
The UK’s Department for Transport and Active Travel England have released guidance on how to set up and manage local school streets.
While this guidance is specific to the UK – such as the need for a Traffic Regulation Order to close off streets and detailing which road signs are required – most of the principals are a useful starting point for authorities anywhere wanting to create safe zones around schools.
It’s also a valuable myth-busting tool.
For a start, the guidance makes it clear that temporary barriers and volunteer stewards are a great way to enforce rules as a new school street takes hold, but long-term interventions require more permanent solutions.
It also allays fears that roads are closed off to all motorised traffic at all times – a counterargument to some of the fiercest opponents who fear their right of access is being stunted.
Deliveries, restricted mobility access, and emergency response vehicles may be granted exceptions. For this reason, the report states that children and their adult guardians should be reminded to remain vigilant, even during road closure times. The best way to mitigate danger is to share our cities’ streets considerately.
Further Reading
Living Streets also offer a bunch of resources ideal for anyone who wants to campaign for school streets where they are, including short videos of existing school streets in action and a beginners’ toolkit.