School Streets effectively address the congestion, road safety and air quality concerns that many schools experience. Monitoring of schemes has revealed how they are enabling children and families to safely walk, wheel, scoot or cycle to school. And by making active travel possible for everyone, they help contribute to efforts to tackle the health crisis and climate change.

As awareness of new schemes grows, the case for School Streets becomes ever more compelling. Not only do they improve the quality of people’s lives locally – they make a difference for entire communities. But the success of a scheme depends on how consultation, implementation, enforcement and monitoring are carried out.

Landor LINKS is running this one-day event, to showcase best practice and offer practical guidance. This conference will bring together professionals from a range of disciplines.

Key agenda points:

The key issues and focuses of the event will include:

• Funding
• Partnerships
• Guidance
• Active travel
• Health and wellbeing
• Consultation and engagement
• Infrastructure design
• Monitoring and data
• Traffic management and enforcement

Programme

09:00: Registration opens 

09:45: Event Welcome: Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire

10:00 Session 1: Paving the way for School Streets

This session will provide the audience with top tips on all important consultation, design and implementation of School Streets within Northern Towns and Cities.

Session Chair: TBC

• TBC, Active Travel England

• TBC, Leeds City Council

• TBC, Bradford Council

• Rosslyn Colderley, Director of Sustrans North

11:15: Refreshment and networking break

11:45 Session 2: Smooth Operations – Running and Enforcing School Streets

One of the biggest contributing factors to the success of a school streets is how it is monitored, run and enforced. This session will focus on getting the right balance between cameras and softer measures to bring about long term behaviour change and to allow communities and stakeholders of each individual school to become proud of their school street.

Session Chair: TBC

• TBC, Derby City Council 

• TBC, Kirklees Council 

• TBC, Wakefield Council 

• Richard O’Malley, Strategic Account Director - North, Marston Holdings 

13:00: Lunch and Networking

14:00 Session 3: Examining the data

This session will look at how effective School Streets are at encouraging active travel, and improving road safety and air quality. And what are the measurable public health benefits? Do they really boost wellbeing and encourage the quality of people’s lives.

Session Chair: Steph Bortoli, Head of Engagement, Project Centre 

• Asa Thomas, Research Fellow in Active Travel and Micromobility, University of Westminster 

• TBC, Smarter Transport 

• TBC, Leeds Clean Air Alliance 

15:15 Refreshment and networking break

15:45 Session 4: Why the case for School Streets is gaining impetus, and how strong leadership and a clear narrative can build firm foundations for new schemes.

This session will include cabinet members and/or city mayors outlining their visions and how School Streets are helping to shape safer, healthier streets and why they are so important to their communities.

Chair: Cllr Peter Carlill - Lead Member for Active Travel and Sustainable Transport, Leeds City Council

• Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (invited)

• Ed Clancy, Active Travel Commissioner, South Yorkshire Combined Authority (invited)

• Simon O'Brien, Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Liverpool City Region (invited)

• Adam Tranter, Cycling and Walking Commissioner, West Midlands Combined Authority (invited)

17:00: Close of conference