Call 25: Cut cars from school drop-offs to boost active travel and improve air quality for our children

The chaotic scene of cars jostling to drop children off for school will be familiar to many. We believe it is unsafe, unhealthy, and unnecessary. So many children being driven to school causes congestion, increases air pollution around schools and raises concerns about road safety.

A YouGov survey, carried out for Sustrans in spring 2018, polled more than 1,000 children aged five to 16 on what they thought about their journey to school. It found that less than one in four children wanted to be dropped-off by car near the school gates and more than half wanted to travel actively; on foot, by bike or by scooter. Troublingly, however, 39 per cent of children identified traffic as a barrier to walking or cycling to school.

Cars around the school gates are a key reason why more parents or guardians choose the car for the journey to school. But, each car only increases safety concerns, meaning more people think they need to drive. We cannot expect change when traffic is only encouraging more cars. But there is a simple solution to this problem – close the road to traffic.

Since 2015, Edinburgh has closed roads around 11 primary schools for drop-off and pick-up. Results are promising. There was an immediate reduction in cars around school gates as the  number of children who were driven to school decreased. Speeds on nearby roads decreased without an increase in congestion. In fact, there were 2,259 fewer vehicles on the road as a result of the street closures – more than 200 fewer per school.