NEWS: New Guidelines Aim to Revamp School Runs

As reported by Gov.uk, government-backed guidance promotes healthier, safer, and greener school streets by restricting motor traffic during peak hours, boosting active travel for kids and communities

Millions more school runs across the country can now be transformed to be healthier, safer, greener and more active, thanks to new government guidelines.

The guidance, published by Active Travel England and the Department for Transport, outlines how councils can better deliver school street schemes so that they work best for pupils and staff as well as local businesses and residents.

A School Street temporarily only allows motor traffic with a permit outside the school gates at pick up and drop off times. This creates a safer space for children and their families to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school, bringing a wealth of benefits to both school pupils and residents, including:

• improved physical and mental health for schoolchildren
• reduced cases of dangerous driving, parking and turning outside schools during school run times
• more children staying active by walking, wheeling or cycling to school, which in turn reduces traffic in the local area during school drop off and pick up
• more opportunities for social interactions on the way to school, and more independence for older pupils
• reduction in emissions around schools

There are already hundreds of School Streets funded across the country, including more than 180 funded by the government’s Active Travel Fund. It comes after recent research commissioned by ATE found that 85% of people in England support active travel and would like to do more, while data from charity Sustrans has previously found that 4 out of 5 children want to walk or cycle to school.