Jools Walker on women and cycling

Jools addressing the attendees of the Women and Cycling Roundtable

Jools’ cycling experiences

Taking part in the Q&A session following the keynote speaker talks

In March 2019, Sustrans Research and Monitoring Unit held a roundtable discussion on women and cycling to determine what needs to happen next.

 

We invited a broad cross-section of speakers and guests who had an understanding of the issues around the lack of women cycling in our towns and cities. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the insights we gained.

 

One speaker was Jools Walker - the Vélo-City-Girl blogger seeking to tackle mainstream gender norms in cycling. Here are her perspectives:

 

This month marks 9 years since I got back into cycling and launched my blog VéloCityGirl, so when Sustrans Scotland invited me to speak at their March 2019 Women and Cycling Roundtable, it felt like a fitting way to celebrate this bikeaversary.

The Roundtable was borne out of research Sustrans had undertaken on the gender gap in cycling. Findings from it highlighted that across UK cities, men are 2-3 times more likely to cycle than women; only 12 per cent of women cycle once a week and 73 per cent of women living in Bike Life cities never ride a bicycle.

Sustrans brought together a range of voices to explore some of these issues, identify solutions to get more women cycling, and discuss what actions could be put in place to improve the situation. Chairing the discussion was Sara Thiam (Director of the Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland), and keynote talks came from Megan Kirton & Tim Burns (Research and Policy Team - Sustrans), Dr Rachel Aldred (Reader in Transport at the University of Westminster), Joanna Ward (Principal Transport Planner for Waterman Group), and myself.

I could talk all day about the utter joy of being on a bike - deciding to get back on the saddle after a 10-year hiatus from cycling is one of the best things I’ve ever done! But I’d be lying if I didn’t talk about any of the barriers that kept me off a bike for so long, and the fact I still encounter some of them now. Being honest about those barriers and the various guises they come in, especially as a Woman of Colour in the cycling industry, is really important to me. I’m always frank about this - whether it’s my writing on VéloCityGirl or any panels/conferences I’m invited to speak at.

As I entered the reception area of Whitespace (the name of venue the Roundtable was being held in, which I must admit made me chuckle) and mingled with the other invited guests over the pre-talk breakfast, I immediately noticed that in a room of around 45-50 people (mainly women) I was 1 of only 2 Women of Colour, and 2 People of Colour overall at the event. Bringing up this ‘elephant in the room’ during my keynote talk and the following chaired Q&A session wasn’t something I was going to shy away from - especially as I had photo-slides in my presentation to illustrate experiencing this at past cycling panel events.

One of the things I frequently find myself talking about (which can sometimes be mentally exhausting to do time and time again) is the lack of diversity and representation of Women of Colour across different levels of the cycling industry. What was refreshing and interesting at the Women and Cycling Roundtable was that during the Q&A other guests picked up on this too, pointing out the lack of presence of other marginalised groups at the event.

A huge part of me hopes that Sustrans—who do incredible work—will indeed broaden their scope for not only events like this, but also further their research into why other groups of women are not cycling, and cover the wider issues of lack of representation. If the aim is to design cycling for everyone, then everyone needs to have a seat at the (Round)table.

My favourite takeaway from the Women and Cycling Roundtable was from Kris Muir, who spoke towards the end of the event and highlighted the importance of all voices being listened to in order to make changes. Just because marginalised voices don’t make up a large sector of society (ethnic minorities, disabled, LGBTQIA - which are also not mutually exclusive) doesn’t mean those voices don’t deserve to be heard - intersectionality is key to all of this.

If widening participation and improving planning for more women to get into cycling is a goal, then all of these voices need to be given the platform to be heard so that the decisions being made are actually rounded, informed and of course, truly representative.

Videos of the keynote speakers at the Women and Cycling roundtable

Megan Kirton & Tim Burns

Dr. Rachel Aldred

Jools Walker

Joanna Ward

Take a look at Joanna Ward’s perspectives from the roundtable

Read more about ‘Bike Life’ and how we are trying to make cycling an attractive form of travel for everyone

• Bike Life
• Cycling
• Cycling in cities
• Lifestyle

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Joanna Ward - Women & Cycling

Joanna addressing the attendees of the Women and Cycling Roundtable

Just 4 days after International Women’s Day, Sustrans Research & Monitoring Unit held a roundtable discussion on women and cycling to determine what needs to happen next.

We invited a broad cross-section of speakers and guests who had an understanding of the issues around the lack of women cycling in our towns and cities. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the insights we gained.

One speaker was Joanna Ward, a Transport Planner from Waterman Group in Nottingham. Here are her perspectives. 

In 2018, Sustrans published the report ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ which examined the role of gender in active travel.

The findings were shocking and included the following;

Most political committees and advisory boards have less than 15% female membership and none have equal representation (Transgen, 2007)

The report also found there is a lack of evidence to show how women participate in creating transport policy and planning in the UK. Currently, transport has the lowest percentage of women in senior posts within the public sector in Scotland, with women representing only 6.25% heads of transport bodies. In addition, the transport sector accounts for only 22% of female workers UK-wide.

In fact, the number of women working in transport has declined since the Sustrans report was published. The latest data shows we’re now down to 20% of the transport workforce being women.

It is well-known that half the population are women. We all use the same transport infrastructure, so how can it only be designed and planned by half of the population?

I welcomed the news that Sustrans Scotland had decided to follow up on the report and hold a ‘Women and Cycling Roundtable’ to examine the issues further and discuss what actions could be put in place to improve the situation.

I was even more thrilled when they not only invited me to attend the event in Edinburgh, but to speak about my experiences of working in the transport planning sector for the last twenty years.

I started my role in Transport Planning in 1998 and have been lucky enough to work for mostly open-minded and positive public, private and charity sector organisations for a wide client base; although back in the late 1990s, things were not very gender-balanced in the transport sector, but I’ve never let this put me off.

However, I did some work last summer further examining how much things had changed but, again, I was a bit shocked to observe there wasn’t a huge difference.

This brought up some clear memories from a couple of years into my career, when I worked in the Highways Maintenance at a Local Authority, and I went to a well-established conference on this topic. Walking into the conference hall, I realised I was not only the youngest person in the room, but also one of only two females at the event! What must the other delegates have thought?

So, I’ve since been actively taking notice at meetings and conferences that I’ve attended to observe where the gender-balance of attendees can be improved!

It was interesting that delegates at the event last week in Edinburgh didn’t over-congratulate themselves that the event was happening, in fact they immediately noted those who weren’t in the room and the need for those with different background to be included in discussions on transport, as well as the further work that needs to be done to achieve this.

I noted there were around 40 delegates in attendance, both female and male, who wanted to discuss these issues further.

It was chaired by Sara Thiam (Director of the Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland) and presentations were provided by Sustrans, Dr Rachel Aldred, Jools Walker and myself, covering a wide range of topics / issues and giving much food for thought.

I was then delighted to chair one of the break-out sessions looking at ‘Women’s Representation in Transport Planning’ where we discussed ‘the Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ of being a woman in the transport field. I can safely say that all those elements were there!

There is still so much to do to make transport at any level more equal for all but that’s the thing with transport planning, it doesn’t exist by itself, but for the movement of people and goods. Those movements need to fit within everyone’s expectations and needs otherwise you are alienating half the population.

With this, I’m heralding a rallying cry of sorts to all of you:

• the women who work in transport planning,
• the men who work in transport planning,
• everyone who needs to get themselves anywhere using transport.

We need to refocus on how our transport can be planned, built and used for everyone, and that means engaging with the whole population. I see that my role is to keep these conversations and discussions going.

The real work starts now, but how do we carry on this discussion in a positive way to ensure more women and others get involved in transport, ensuring that it is planned and designed for everyone?

Joanna Ward is a Principal Transport Planner for Waterman Group

Videos of the speeches from the keynote speakers at the Women and Cycling roundtable:

Sustrans Research and Monitoring Unit

Dr. Rachel Aldred

Jools Walker

Joanna Ward

• Commuting
• Cycling
• Cycling in cities
• Leadership
• Policy
• Young people

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Remembering Ben Hamilton-Baillie

Xavier Brice, chief executive of Sustrans, pays tribute to Ben Hamilton-Baillie, who died earlier this month.

“It was with great shock and sadness that I read the news that Ben Hamilton-Baillie had passed away.

I first met Ben around 10 years ago at City Hall in London. He came with a mammoth set of slides to present to the Mayor, but more importantly with passion and expertise that swept all there along with him as he explained how we could, and why we should civilise the city’s streets.

What I didn’t know at the time is that Ben played an instrumental role in shaping Sustrans. He joined the charity shortly after we were awarded a £42.5million grant from the National Lottery to deliver the National Cycle Network. 

At first, he was one of just a small number of staff working with John Grimshaw on the Network, and in his early days, Ben’s role covered the whole of the South of England and Wales.  He was a true pioneer and trailblazer, fondly remembered by colleagues for his infectious passion, humour and expertise. But Ben’s interest went beyond cycle paths. He led study tours to the Netherlands to see woonerfs or home zones, and these led to Sustrans’ DIY Streets, which in turn led to the community street design work that sits at the heart of so much of what we do today.

Ben’s work at Sustrans in the late 1990s led him to expand his own horizons: in 2000 he was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship and was a Harvard University Loeb Fellow in 2001.  This study further ignited his passion for what he described as ‘civilising streets’ and reclaiming urban spaces for people.

In his later years, through his own transport, design and urban planning practice, Ben continued to re-shape streets; and as an author, lecturer and advocate he worked tirelessly to educate and inspire others.

Whilst his life was too short, his memory lives on for all of us at Sustrans, and in civilised streets across the UK and beyond.”

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How can we engage children in addressing the biggest threats to their health and to their future?

©2019, Paul Tanner, all rights reserved

©2019, Paul Tanner, all rights reserved

The burning of fossil fuel may represent the biggest threat to the health of our children, and is a primary source of global inequality and environmental injustice. What can we do to counter these challenges? How can we engage children in promoting agendas for change?

This blog is based on reflections following the publication of the Public Health England Review of interventions to improve outdoor air quality and public health.

Recent research argues that fossil-fuel combustion by-products are the world’s most significant threat to children’s health and future and are major contributors to global inequality and environmental injustice. This research emphasises the interconnectedness of toxic air pollutants and climate-altering greenhouse gas. The argument runs that the compound effect of emissions on children’s development and health, and of the impacts of changing environments and resources, are having huge impacts on individuals and communities worldwide.

The consequence of these challenges is reflected in what a recent series in the Lancet described as a Global Syndemic. This research links the phenomena of obesity, undernutrition and climate change. This paper draws the links between human health and wellbeing, ecological health and wellbeing, social equity, and economic prosperity. It identifies the major systems driving the Global Syndemic as food and agriculture, transportation, urban design, and land use. (There are differences between the extent of emphasis that the two papers place on pollution relative to nutrition, but both acknowledge the interconnection between these factors, and both are emphatic about the role of climate change).

Elsewhere, we research suggests that deaths attributable to air pollution are twice as high as previously estimated. There are numerous determinants of where these deaths are distributed, but there is growing consensus that they are concentrated in more deprived communities worldwide. Another new study provides evidence that exposure to poor air in the US is disproportionately concentrated among minority ethnic groups. The paper reports that “black and Hispanic minorities bear a disproportionate burden from the air pollution caused mainly by non-Hispanic whites”, and describes a “pollution inequity”. Evidence of pollution inequity in the UK describes a disproportionate effect in poorer communities.

The publication of the Public Health England Review of interventions to improve outdoor air quality and public health is very timely. It makes a very useful contribution in terms of identifying approaches that can be applied to address air quality. I am pleased to have been able to contribute to the study in some small way. But coming against a backdrop of growing evidence of global and local health challenges, inequality and environmental injustice, the question is does it go far enough?

The PHE report treats air quality in isolation, rather than as part of a more complete systemic challenge; there is little or no discussion of carbon emissions, other health-detrimental factors, or social inequalities; some of the suggested remedial activities focus more on reducing exposure than on reducing emissions; and some of the suggested approaches disregard the realities of space and resources (I am thinking particularly here of the suggestion of “redesigning cities so that people aren’t so close to highly polluting roads”, rather than reducing pollution on roads, for example). But the report does present a lot of challenges to the central and local government. There are many issues of planning and policy that will need to be addressed if we are to reduce air pollution – and in so doing address other health, environment and equity issues.

In particular, some of the press coverage associated with the report majored on what it said about the school run. Interpretations were varied, from “Schools should have ‘no idling zones’, Public Health England chief says” to “Health chiefs say parents should be banned from dropping off their children in new fight on air pollution.”

And this is one of the areas where Sustrans is busy trying to make a difference. The Big Pedal and School Streets are initiatives which aim to work with schools to reduce emissions, to raise physical activity, to reduce inequality, and to build awareness of environmental challenge. Will these initiatives eliminate the global environmental threat, restore fairness, and save lives worldwide? No. But they serve to demonstrate what is possible to improve the places we live, learn and travel.

Overcoming global inequality and environmental injustice, and effectively supporting human health and wellbeing, ecological health and wellbeing, social equity, and economic prosperity will require a whole lot more. But reducing the amount of fossil fuel combustion that each of us is responsible for will help. And addressing school travel is a good place to start.

We hope that the big Pedal and School Streets will prove really good mechanisms for engaging children in promoting agendas for change.

We urge people to get on board and support The Big Pedal and School Streets.
 

• Air Quality
• Schools

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Climate change action begins on school streets

©Sustrans, all rights reserved

©Sustrans, all rights reserved

Youth is wasted on the young, or so they say. Something I’d usually tend to agree with looking back at the years I spent dragging my feet to school. However, over recent months, we’ve seen young people rise up, and send arguably one of the most important political messages to global leaders: how do we solve a problem like climate change?

Triggered by the solo demonstrations of 15-year-old Swedish school girl Greta Thunberg in August 2018 a global youth movement of School Strikes for climate change is gathering momentum and demonstrating the power of local, grassroots action.

Many children walked out at my son’s/our local school last month and many more are expected to do so today, joining thousands across the UK and tens of thousands globally. And other small protests are adding to the clamour for change.

The direct action of Steve Marsland, Headteacher at Russell Scott primary school in Denton in Tameside, made national headlines when he appointed children to issue fake parking tickets on cars parked outside the school to highlight parents’ inconsiderate parking or idling cars, after a rise in asthma cases.

For all the talk of climate change being ‘too big’, local action is exactly what’s needed in times like these. How many of us would look back in hindsight and suggest that the ‘mother’ of the civil rights movement Rosa Parks’ very small, but very significant act of refusing to give up her seat on an Alabama bus, was deemed too ‘local’, or not enough to have an impact?

There is little more political than coming together locally to try and affect political thinking. In spite of all the evidence stacking up, we are still seeing the reaction to climate change move at a (retreating) glacial pace.

Transport is a major cause of air pollution

This month, Public Health England released their air quality evidence review, part of which specifically focuses on what interventions are needed to reduce the already known ill effects transport emissions have on the development of children’s lungs and the links to increased asthma.

The report says: “working with children and their parents to implement no-idling zones outside schools, make it easy for children to walk or cycle to school and increase public awareness in relation to air pollution and children. This will reduce air pollution in the vicinity of schools and reducing children’s exposure accordingly.”

Transport is the only sector in the UK with increasing carbon emissions, so addressing our addiction to fossil-fuelled transport, when combined at scale, could have an impact on our emissions.

Start tackling climate change on school streets

So how do we make local action which can have a global effect? Our School Streets programme, which launches later this month to coincide with our annual inter-school Big Pedal competition, encourages teachers, parents, schools and Local Authorities, to address the ways in which our children are able to travel to school.

For far too long, we have become complacent with our children’s journey to school. Being ‘dropped off’ has become the de facto norm, with 41% of five to 10-year-olds travelling to school by car or van in 2017, according to the National Travel Survey.

School Streets involves closing the streets outside schools at pick up and drop off times. A number of forward-thinking Local Authorities have already adopted these schemes in an attempt to reposition the school run; being a little more stick than carrot. It’s a very local action, which can have positive ramifications for our children, schools, and wider communities. But taken together, the momentum can have more significant impacts.

Our politicians have been slow to react, if indeed they react at all, to the existential threat of climate change, seeing at times as few as 10 MPs in Parliament for the debate on the UK cutting carbon emissions, so perhaps it really is down to the kids.

Their localised political actions have certainly inspired me. And we want our localised actions of School Streets to have the impact of School Strikes. We want to challenge what has become accepted, and make a small change locally, which can have a big impact nationally. And if these localised actions are replicated the world over, then we build political momentum that gets harder to be ignored.

Oh to be young again…

Read more about our School Streets programme

• Campaign for Safer Streets
• Environment
• Schools

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Air quality: connecting evidence, legislation, practical measures … and fun!

Pupils at Glebelands Primary School in Leicester marking Clean Air Day 2018. Photograph: Leicester City Council

Air quality is one of the major health and environmental concerns of our time. A new synthesis of research evidence shows that walking and cycling can make a major contribution to addressing the problem.

The challenge now is to connect the evidence to legislative changes, and to practical measures to address the issue. Sustrans is very pleased to have been able to contribute to Public Health England’s Air Quality Review. As a charity promoting walking and cycling we have a role to play in supporting the building of the evidence base, the use of the evidence to support legislation, and translating this into measures that can be delivered locally.

Sustrans’ is working towards a society where the way we travel creates healthier places and happier lives for everyone. We make a difference at a local level. Then we work from the grassroots up. We’re always thinking about the bigger picture and long-term impact.

The Air Quality Review report recommends that local engagement focuses on encouraging the use of improved public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure. The report goes on to suggest a focus on co-implementation of interventions related to spatial planning and transport infrastructure, targeting a reduction in traffic emissions and increased access to and use of non-car traffic, investing in and promoting active transport and public transport.

We hope that such explicit encouragement will lead to governments addressing some of the key disconnects in air quality and other policies, including:

• Improved integration of pollution policies for NOx and PMs, and even extending to carbon emissions 
• Transport policies which adequately acknowledge air quality
• Health policies which better support preventive measures, rather than focussing solely on remedial ‘cure’ work.

Joining up across these policy areas would mean that interventions that seek to reduce all forms of emissions from motor vehicles, and which support increased levels of physical activity would be better supported.

Sustrans’ work in schools makes a great case in point. We engage pupils to support them in travelling actively to school; we work to raise awareness of the positive benefits of walking and cycling; we enable the development of safe routes and networks to enable access to school; and increasingly we support local stakeholders in implementing measures to reduce the amount of traffic in the vicinity of schools.

And above all, we emphasise the fun part! The photograph accompanying this piece shows an event where Sustrans worked with Leicester City Council to support a school in closing a street outside the school for a day, and supported the pupils in engaging in fun activities to celebrate Clean Air Day.

There is a growing movement in support of measures that seek to improve air quality around schools. For example, Sustrans recently supported an initiative by the Clean Air Parents Network. Signatories to a letter addressed to a number of senior political figures supported the call to develop a Clean Air for Children Programme. This proposal asked governments to:

1. Carry out a comprehensive air quality audit of schools, nurseries and playgrounds in known pollution hotspots to identify all those affected by illegal and harmful levels of air pollution to identify and implement policies and actions to protect children’s health.
2. Ban the creation of new schools, nurseries and playgrounds in pollution hotspots.
3. Bring in traffic exclusion zones around schools, nurseries and playgrounds where this will help to reduce children’s exposure.
4. Promote and enable walking, cycling and public transport as realistic options for journeys to and from schools, nurseries and playgrounds.
5. Provide schools and nurseries with a proactive alert system for high pollution events and guidance and support on how to protect children from air pollution throughout the year.
6. Bring in new clean air laws to safeguard our right to breathe clean air with limits based on WHO guidelines.

Meanwhile, we still look to UK Governments to show leadership by creating a new Clean Air Act that tackles all forms of air pollution.

The Public Health England Air Quality Review report is a timely endorsement for the work that Sustrans and many other organisations are delivering throughout the UK. And if the evidence can feed into a more supportive policy environment, it will represent a very significant step forward.

Sustrans is the charity that’s making it easier for people to walk and cycle. We’re working with families, communities, policy-makers and partner organisations right across the UK to encourage active travel. We are particularly interested in basing our activities in support of active  travel on a solid evidence base. We were very proud to have our work featured in a recent UN report as an example of good practice at the science-policy interface.

• Air Quality
• Policy

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Paving the way for cycling equality

credit: J Bewley/photojB

Today is International Women’s Day - a day in which we reflect on progress made, call for change and celebrate those people whose courageous and selfless acts helped to create the much more equal world that we live in today.

What is long forgotten is that bicycles have played a large role in the Women’s Liberation Movement. When bicycles came into mass production in the UK in the late 19th Century, women, who had historically relied on men to travel, were finally given the independence to travel alone by bike and on foot.

However, over 100 years later, research shows us that in Wales we have truly been backpedalling on the road to travel equality.

Women in Wales are being let down by a society that has been built around the needs of the car. Research shows that 37% of women in Wales do not have daily access to a car, yet still, the majority of travel spend is being invested in building and maintaining roads. This is compounded by the fact that public transport fares continue to rise, bus routes are being cut back, and women are being shut out by walking and cycling infrastructure that is being built without consideration of their wants and needs.

Understanding women’s needs and perceptions

Sustrans “Bike Life Women: Reducing the gender gap” report released in 2018, details women’s travel habits, views, and attitudes towards cycling based on an ICM independent survey of over 7,700 residents living in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Greater Manchester.

This research showed that men are twice as likely to use a bicycle for travel on a regular basis in all seven cities, and 73% of women living in Bike Life cities never ride a bicycle.

We know that impeding mobility can exacerbate existing inequalities in society, for example not being able to access employment or incorporate physical activity into an already hectic daily lifestyle.

Research by Chwarae Teg in 2016 shows that men are more likely to commute further, giving them access to better jobs and higher salaries. Whereas, women are more likely to work closer to home, making it more convenient for them to spend more time at home and to remain the principal caregiver. Reinforcing the idea of men being breadwinners and women principally being homemakers and carers.

In Wales, 49% of women do not meet the recommended daily physical activity in order to live a healthy lifestyle.  If women felt more confident about walking and cycling this figure could be significantly reduced. For many people, especially those living in cities, the easiest and most accessible forms of physical activity are those that can be incorporated into our everyday lives, for example, walking or cycling to work, education or other everyday journeys.

It’s time to balance for better

So what changes are women telling us that we need to make for walking and cycling to become a reality for them?

The report revealed that 31% of women in Cardiff who do not ride a bike would like to, with the majority of those wanting to see cycle safety improved.

A huge 79% of women surveyed would support building more protected cycle lanes, even if it means less space for other road traffic. This means building cycle lanes that are physically separated from the road, stopping the all too familiar problems such as pavement parking; which force wheelchair users and women with prams into danger, and cars drifting into cycle lanes. This new data only goes to show how important it is for Welsh Government and Local Authorities to invest in good walking and cycling infrastructure that is co-designed with the communities that will be using it. Not only to bridge the gender gap when it comes to cycling but to improve the health and wellbeing of its population.

Investing in reducing the barriers to mobility can go a long way to breaking down existing inequalities in society, improve health and wellbeing, reducing air quality, and improving the overall prosperity of Wales. So let’s start listening to their voices, and build environments that are truly accessible for everyone.

• Cycling
• Cycling in cities

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Taking back school streets

This year, as part of the Big Pedal, we are working with Playing Out, local authorities and schools across the UK to close the road directly outside the school gates.

Chaos and congestion outside the school gate is a major barrier to active travel. We want to highlight the potential of a simple solution, closing the road outside schools to motor traffic.

Picture a typical scene outside a school at drop off time. Some children will be trying to walk, scoot and cycle, but cars are blocking the road and pavements, and the air is thick with the fumes of idling car engines. The space is noisy, dangerous and unwelcoming for parents, pupils and local residents.

Now imagine that scene without cars – the road is peaceful, everyone can walk, scoot or cycle safely, and breathe in clean air. Sounds like an impossible change?

In fact, it’s already being done, and Sustrans is working with schools and local authorities to make this dream a reality.

Sustrans Big Pedal

This year, as part of the Big Pedal, we are working with Playing Out, local authorities and schools across the UK to close the road directly outside the school, to help create an environment which is safe and free from traffic and toxic fumes.

The Big Pedal is the UK’s largest active travel school challenge. Last year almost 1,300 schools took part, with almost 1 million active journeys made during the two-week competition. The Big Pedal highlights what can be achieved in a small space of time, but to make walking, scooting and cycling to school a reality, we have to limit traffic and address safety on the school run, starting with the road by the school.

We know that across the UK, chaos and congestion outside the school gate is a major barrier to active travel. And we want to highlight the potential of a simple solution, closing the road outside schools to motor traffic at pick up and drop off times.

Taking back school streets 

A number of pioneering local authorities, including Edinburgh, Hackney and Solihul, have established this approach, which has been termed ‘School Streets’.

We believe the potential of this approach is huge. And there are many reasons we need to act now: Over 2,000 schools in the UK are in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution and a shocking 1 in 4 cars in the morning rush hour are on the school run. The average journey to school is 1.6 miles, a distance that can be easily walked, cycled or scooted.

Childhood obesity in the UK is increasing, with 20% of 10-11 years old in England now being obese. Creating a safe environment for children walking and getting around by bike to school is one of the best solutions to get them more physically active.

School children have a right to breathe clean air 

Earlier this month, Unicef published a report titled: ‘Healthy Air for Every Child: A Call for National Action’.  Sustrans is backing Unicef’s call to tackle air pollution head on and protect children’s health with a Little Lungs Fund and cross-governmental healthy air for children action plan. Read our full response.

To be kept informed about the support that Sustrans can provide for School Streets complete this form.

• Air Quality
• Health
• Schools

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