School Streets: Learning valuable lessons

A report from Landor LINKS School Streets 2025 conference

Data suggests that School Streets reduce road danger, encourage active travel, improve air quality, have health and wellbeing benefits, create verdant and attractive environments, and support community cohesion. But beyond all of that, they can also strengthen the case for people-friendly streets across wider areas, as discussed at the School Streets conference.

School Streets are here to stay, more are on the way, and data is revealing beyond doubt their myriad benefits. These were recurring themes at the third annual School Streets conference, once more hosted by Lambeth Council and organised by Landor LINKS. Some of the authorities that were just embarking on their School Streets journey at the first conference returned to report how they are now implementing their second and third tranches, as well as refining the first schemes.

Some issues remain pertinent, among them consultation, engagement, design and implementation. Also discussed was School Street as catalyst for improving wider areas, encompassing the whole journey from home to school. Other topics included who should be exempt from restrictions, the case for camera enforcement and why good data is so important.

School Streets in London

There are now more than 640 School Streets in the capital, London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman told delegates. This, he said, represented 18% of all schools in London. “We have many more coming in the next three years. We've probably got at least another 150, if not more, schools wanting School Streets.”

Though the continuing spread of School Streets was “excellent news”, it was only part of a broader vision, said Norman. “It’s all well and good having a nice wide area outside the school, but the rest of the journey, be that one kilometre or two kilometres, needs to also be safe and accessible for people.”

School Streets that are part of a wider Low Traffic Neighbourhood, and connected to cycle lanes, have resulted in “massive changes” to travel behaviour, he said.

There needs to be a shift from School Streets to School Zones, which incorporate local traffic management measures, such as new crossings across main roads, so that people can move between the neighbourhoods, said Norman. “I think that's the next piece of the puzzle.”

Norman praised the role of charities such as Living Streets, Sustrans and Solve the School Run in building a compelling case for School Streets. “There are lots of organisations across the capital that play an instrumental role in putting political pressure on leaders in the different boroughs, on me, on Transport for London, and on the Mayor of London to make sure that this change happens faster.”

Living Streets

Katherine Holcroft, head of major projects at Living Streets explained how the charity’s interactive WOW travel planner has had a dramatic impact on travel behaviour. 

Children who walk/wheel, cycle or scoot to school once a week for a month are rewarded with a badge. On average, WOW schools see a 30% reduction in car journeys taken to the school gate and a 23% increase in walking rates, said Holcroft.  

When beginning the process of introducing School Streets, it made sense to prioritise the schools where implementing a scheme is relatively straightforward, she said. “And once you’ve done that, it's easier to get that buy-in from others.”

Living Streets also helps develop complementary features in and around School Streets to provide “greener, more social spaces”, said Holcroft. She cited the work the charity has done with Lambeth Council to replace parking spaces with parklets.

Lambeth Council

Samuel Dillon, Lambeth Council’s school streets manager, reported that the borough now has 43 School Streets, representing about 65% of our primary schools. By November, he expects this to rise to 90%. He said: “We're working with our transport and highways team to look at solutions for the remaining 10% of schools.”

The council plans to review the existing School Street zones to see if any should cover a larger area to address issues around traffic displacement. Each scheme is launched using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders during the three-month ‘soft launch’ period, after which ANPR cameras are installed to a enforce scheme.

Solve the School Run

In the case of Rosendale Primary School in Lambeth, camera enforcement was necessary from the outset, revealed Nicola Pastore, co-founder of the charity Solve the School Run. “It is one of the most ambitious and complex School Streets in Lambeth, so it went straight to ANPR enforcement,” she said.

It took Solve the School Run five years to convince the council to go ahead with the Rosendale scheme, according to Pastore.

The scheme involved implementing traffic filters on three roads spanning 2km and installing four ANPR cameras. “Before the scheme there were traffic volumes of 800 cars per hour,” she said.

The Rosendale scheme has been “absolutely transformational,” said Pastore. “It has created very safe and healthy journeys for the children accessing other schools in the surrounding area.”

Beyond the usual reasons for implementing a School Street, the most “powerful justification” is that it creates safe and healthy journeys for the children who are already walking and cycling to school. Families with young children are often “under-represented” in consultations and feedback to councillors, which is why it is necessary to collect solid data to challenge bias.

Pastore previously worked as a financial data analytics consultant, and she uses this experience to quantify the impact of the school run, and to get better data on how children are making journeys. “So, we combine those data insights with various experience on the ground and campaigning for solutions from School Streets to school buses to help other communities and local authorities to improve their school route.”

Westminster City Council

Clara Leowe, road safety officer, Westminster City Council, sees good quality data as vital during all stages of a School Street scheme from concept to completion – and beyond. “You need to collect data at every point possible, wherever you can, from whoever you can,” she said.

Having this data helps to ensure a scheme is prioritised on need and fairness, “and not on who shouts the loudest”.

Westminster City Council has so far implemented 13 schemes, of which seven are CCTV enforced, three are patrolled by traffic marshals and three are signage only.

The three-year budget for School Streets in Westminster is £2.726m, which includes a support staff budget of £165,000.

The total cost for each School Street in Westminster ranges from £100,000 to £150,000, which includes feasibility studies, traffic modelling, Traffic Management Order consultation, communication materials, stakeholder engagement, signage and CCTV enforcement (the cost of cameras plus operational costs in the first two years). Any surplus raised goes to the council’s children services, adult services and transport, Leowe said.

Medway Council

Finance was also touched on by Ruth Du-Lieu, deputy director of place, Medway Council, who said that enforcing School Streets brings in revenue to cover the cost of the schemes. Medway has so far installed nine School Streets and plans to add another nine. Camera enforcement has been implemented after a six-month warning period in the case of each scheme.

Alongside School Streets, the council has also been installing red routes, which have improved the reliability of bus services, said Du-Lieu. This has benefitted those children who take longer journeys to school, she pointed out. “If you’ve got children who live on the other side of town, they can get a bus and walk some of the way. All the things we’re delivering are now fitting together.”

Du-Lieu praised the steadfast support of the council’s portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, Alex Paterson. “He told us, ‘we're on this journey and we're going to do it – we’re going to make it a much nicer place for our children’.”

‘Pacifying’ Parisian streets

Since becoming Mayor of Paris more than a decade ago, Anne Hidalgo has challenged the dominance of the car and has set about transforming the urban landscape. This has included higher parking tariffs for polluting vehicles and reallocating road space to pedestrianised streets and cycle lanes. She has also resolutely championed School Streets.

Details of latest developments in the French capital were presented by Priscilla Benedetti, School Streets project head at Greater Paris Metropolitan Region. The COVID-19 pandemic served as the impetus for School Streets, as they allowed social distancing.

In 2020 some 50 School Streets were launched in Paris, initially with just rudimentary features such as gates and plantings. “What we saw in 2020 was a new mobilisation from parents who wanted their School Streets to be closed to traffic,” said Benedetti.

Since then, School Streets in Paris have been adapted to include a host of measures including rain gardens, seating, art installations, play areas and cycling zones for children as well as a place for school fairs and other events.

The municipal authority aims is to “pacify” 300 streets in Paris by 2026. Initially, schemes are very basic, with little more than a gate to stop traffic. “This is easily reversible and it’s cheap,” said Benedetti. “We tell people, ‘let’s try it for three months, and if it doesn’t work we will go back to how it was before’.”

But support for School Streets invariably grows once they are in place. Businesses have seen the benefits of School Streets, said Benedetti. “There will be a café, for example, that sees that closing the street has actually increased the number of customers.”

School Streets in Paris are not camera-enforced, instead being managed with the use of gates. “The way we do it in Paris is low tech,” said Benedetti.

Playtime is serious business

The School Streets conference offered delegates something a little out of the ordinary; a role playing session where participants discussed proposals for a fictional School Street.

The ‘Playtime’ session – devised and led by Andrew Potter, director at Parking Perspectives – asked participants to inspect street maps of the area and decide how large the scheme should be. They were also asked to choose timings of restrictions and who should be exempt from restrictions during hours of operation.

Several delegates were given roles including cabinet members, council officers, residents, parents, teachers, businesses, emergency services, campaign groups and, for good measure, a conspiracy theorist.

It turned out to be a lively session, with many delegates inhabiting their roles with gusto.

There were notable ‘performances’ by Simon O’Brien, walking and cycling commissioner for Liverpool City Region; Vicki Franks, active travel officer, West Yorkshire Combined Authority; Su Guy, active and sustainable travel officer; Robert Davis, chairman, Road Danger Reduction Forum; Rowena Champion, executive member for environment, air quality and transport, Islington Council; Rezina Chowdhury, deputy leader (Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air), Lambeth Council; Pete Dyson, Behavioural scientist and bicycling mayor for Bath; Tom Cohen, Reader in Transport Policy at University of Westminster; Nicola Pastore, co-founder, Solve the School Street; Idowu Ereoah, traffic enforcement manager, Haringey Council; Claire McDonald, campaigner, Mums for Lungs; and many others!