One area of Wales is launching a scheme to allow residents to close their own streets to traffic to allow children to play safely in the road. The Vale of Glamorgan council is joining the 'Play Streets' initiative running across Wales and England.
Play Streets are neighbour-led temporary road closures to allow children to play outside, on their doorstep. The Vale Play Team have been working with Play Wales and residents to implement the road closures in Barry. Romilly Road and Dunraven Street are the focus of the pilot scheme. Each road will be closed for two hours a month for the next 12 months.
The play streets or playing out sessions were first developed by parents and co-founders of Playing Out on one street in Bristol in 2009 and now has been introduced to hundreds of streets across the UK.
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Residents of the chosen streets will be provided with hi-vis clothing, signage and information cards to carry out the road closures themselves.
The Playing Out movement highlights ten good reasons for streets play, they include:
1. Children need to play
2. The street is a blank canvas
3. Children like to play near home and have traditionally done so.
4. Children need ample space to play energetically.
5. Playing in the street increases community cohesion.
6. Street play creates new opportunities for socialising and friendships.
7. Children learn valuable skills and gain independence.
8 Playing in the street allows for ‘semi-supervised’ play.
9. The street is the “starting point for all journeys” (Tim Gill, 2007)
10. Streets constitute the vast majority of public space in the city.
Cllr Gwyn John, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Wellbeing said: “It is the Council’s aim to make our communities more play friendly by increasing quality opportunities for play throughout the Vale. Streets make up a considerable amount of public space and should be for everyone, not just cars. Not everyone has access to a garden and some children can’t get to public parks or open spaces so easily.
“For a child, the most accessible everyday space is the one right outside their front door. By introducing a temporary road closure where possible, we can ensure that children have a safe space to engage in outdoor play, establish friendships, and build confidence.
“The intended outcome of this pilot scheme is for more children to enjoy the health, social, cognitive and emotional benefits that outdoor play provides which also aligns with the Council’s goal of creating a healthy Vale and a healthy Wales.”
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