A recent report authored by Asa Thomas, a PhD researcher at the Active Travel Academy, has found that ‘School streets’ closures in London have improved the overall experience for the children that are using them.
The new report ‘Making School Streets Healthier’ report investigated the ‘School Streets’ closure trials in London, which are initiatives where the streets in front of schools are closed to cars at the beginning and end of the school day. The closures aimed to encourage children and their parents to walk, cycle or scoot to school. Two case study streets in East London were studied to examine some of the successes and challenges faced by schemes which were implemented as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, the researchers found that the School Streets schemes have made streets healthier. Motor traffic was found to be radically curbed both during the closure and over the course of the day, which has improved the overall experience of using these streets – something that was reflected in the uptick in cycling at one of the sites. However, the researchers found that pedestrian behaviour remained largely unchanged with the implementation of the closure, which suggests there are still opportunities to improve some aspects of these schemes.
The new research follows an initial report by the Active Travel Academy, which found that if School Streets were rolled out to all schools where they are able to be installed, this would reduce exposure to air pollution and road danger for 1.25 million primary and secondary students in the four areas studied.
There are now over 450 School Streets in London, with the vast majority of these being installed as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the schemes were implemented initially as temporary or emergency measures, but are now becoming permanent. Over the coming years, School Streets will become a significant and permanent fixture in London’s streetscape, and play a role in the lives of a large proportion of London’s school-age population.
By analysing how the initial School Street schemes have changed the way that these spaces are used by parents, children and passers-by, the researchers hope that their work will allow for designers and policy makers will improve schemes as they become embedded in their neighbourhoods.
Talking about the research, Asa Thomas said: “With some caveats, this research provides more evidence for the effectiveness of School Streets in improving the urban environments through which children travel to schools in London. The use of before and after data in this study allows for a detailed analysis of behaviour in the urban environment which will hopefully prove helpful to designers and policy makers working on future schemes.”
The report is generously supported by the Mayor of London and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and was completed by the Active Travel Academy at the University of Westminster in collaboration with Cross River Partnership.
Read the full paper on the Cross River Partnership website.
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