Hackney Council introduced School Streets ─ a pioneering programme that closes roads outside school gates at drop-off and pick-up times. This prevents busy school traffic from congesting and endangering children on their way to school, encouraging more families to take sustainable modes of transport.
Since 2017 the council have introduced seven school streets and worked closely with more schools on their school travel plans to encourage walking, cycling or taking public transport. Now just 9% of children in Hackney travel to school by car, down from 18.5% in 2008, and the council plans to have 17 school streets by 2022. This year the council launched a national toolkit to support other local authorities wanting to do the same, and a copy can be found here. You can find more information at www.hackney.gov.uk/school-streets.
