School Street designs turn streets around schools into pedestrian-friendly spaces during drop-off and pick-up times. They reduce vehicle use, pollution, and improve safety and health. They also give families more space for walking, biking, scooting, and playing. They can even encourage healthier lifestyles and increase walking and cycling for other trips, including those to work and shopping. This link https://school-streets.co.uk/

While New York is often cited as an example of a failed attempt at school streets, cities all over the world are now rapidly embracing this low-cost strategy. Outside the US, London, Paris, Tirana, and other European cities are in the vanguard of this movement. They typically restrict motorized traffic for short periods at the beginning and end of the school day, but allow people who have to get to work to drive through. They may also have permanent swinging gates at street ends that city workers or teachers can lock to block off the roads at designated hours.

Safety First: Elements of Effective School Street Design

In London, for example, where school street programs are very popular, the borough of Hackney has reported that tailpipe emissions around schools dropped by 74%, while walking and cycling to school increased. In Tirana, meanwhile, school streets are a cornerstone of a broader child-first urban planning policy that has attracted international attention for its focus on children’s health and well being. As cities around the world seek to address the escalating climate emergency, school streets designs offer an easy-to-adopt and quick-to-showcase solution. They are a proven, low-cost way to improve local air quality and promote safer, healthier, more active travel for everyone.