‘Safer streets for kids’ campaign launched

Campaign groups Solve the School Run and Clean Cities are urging London councils to commit to a ‘Safer Streets for Kids’ manifesto, including street closures around schools at drop off and pick up time, and measures to discourage driving dangerous SUVs.

They are calling for a School Street for every school where the road by a school is closed to traffic during the hours of school drop off and pick up.

Every family should get access to a cargo bike, say the groups. This could be through subsidies, secure bike parking options or bike share schemes, they suggest.

Solve the School Run and Clean Cities are also pressing councillors to reallocate kerb space in “a child-friendly way” with more double yellow lines and crossing points to improve sightlines, so children can see and be seen, along with parking tariffs to discourage SUVs and carspreading.

Research by Solve the School Run shows that, on average, 443 children are injured on their way to and from London schools each year. Of these, 16% - 72 children - are seriously or fatally injured on the London school run (1 fatal injury, 71 serious injuries).

In total, 6,181 children suffered injuries on the road across London – of which 1,006 were killed or seriously injured - in the past three years, according to Solve the School Run. Of these, 1,328 were during the school run.