School Streets: A Comprehensive Guide
Revised News Text
School streets—areas around schools temporarily or permanently pedestrianized to promote safety and sustainability—have gained significant attention in urban planning discourses. We delve into the fundamentals and reasons behind their necessity.
Motorized traffic, historically a priority in urban design, contributes to a variety of issues, including:
- Air pollution and climate change due to exhaust emissions
- Limited mobility for people, particularly lengthy waits at pedestrian crossings
- Exacerbation of social inequalities, as affluent white men disproportionately use private vehicles
- Physical dangers for children, especially during commutes.
The feminist city movement targets these systemic challenges; school streets provide a means to alleviate them at a smaller scale.
Definition and Origins
There's no strict definition of a school street, but the concept has been around for over three decades. The first was established in Bolzano, Italy, in 1989, and today, over 1,000 school streets exist globally, with more than half in the UK.
Luisina Perassi, a transport planner, explains that school streets are designed to improve safety for children walking or cycling to school. While roads adjacent to school grounds are included, the school street area extends between 200 and 500 meters from school gates to account for increased air pollution during school runs.
The unique layout and needs of each city or school necessitate tailored solutions for school streets.
Key Components
Access
Restricting vehicle access permanently or during rush hours, installing traffic calming measures, and clearly marking designated drop-off/pick-up zones for delivery drivers, parents, and those with mobility aids ensure safe access while maintaining mobility.
Space
By converting vehicle-dominated roads into bike lanes, green areas, play areas, and seating spaces, school streets encourage active travel and transform the area into a safe environment for children, parents, and citizens.
Enforcement
Barriers, speed cameras, fines, and enforcement officer patrols help control traffic and maintain compliance with new regulations.
Practical Implications and Benefits
Despite concerns about blocking roads or affecting nearby residents, the advantages of school streets often outweigh these potential difficulties. In the UK, for example:
- Over 1,200 children are injured in traffic incidents within 500 meters of a school every month
- Most of these casualties occur during drop-off and pick-up times (8:00-9:00 & 15:00-16:00)
- Approximately one-third of drivers observed outside schools demonstrate unsafe behaviors, including mobile phone usage
Reducing the presence of vehicles lowers the risk of accidents and injuries.
The Mums for Lungs group reports that implementing school streets can reduce driven journeys to school by 18% and air pollution by 26%, which they deem a "game-changer." Improved safety, increased active travel, and cleaner air boost mental and physical development and school performance.
Challenges and Solutions
Some local authorities may resist implementing school streets due to perceived costs or opposition from commuters and businesses. However, interventions need not be expensive, according to Karolina Taczalska, co-creator of Poland's first school street. In the long run, investing in people-focused infrastructure reduces road maintenance and repair costs.
Resistance can wear off as benefits become clearer, and even the most ardent car advocates find it hard to deny children's right to safety or clean air.
The UK's Department for Transport and Active Travel England have released guidance on establishing and managing school streets. This resource offers practical advice and helps dispel common misconceptions, such as the expense or necessity to close roads completely to all motorized traffic.
A commitment to home-and-garden initiatives can include the promotion of school streets, as these safe spaces encourage active travel and improve the sustainability of urban living. The education-and-self-development sector can incorporate school streets within educational programs about climate change and social equality. Politicians can support the funding and implementation of school streets in their districts, as they play a vital role in addressing issues related to crime-and-justice, such as child safety during commutes.
