More than 500 “school streets” have been introduced in London in a bid to bring the school run by car to an end, Sadiq Khan announced on Thursday.
School streets use CCTV cameras to restrict vehicle access to roads next to schools at the start and end of the school day, with any non-residents at risk of being fined.
A total of 372 have been introduced since the start of the pandemic, helping to reduce road danger and pollution at the school gates. There are now 511 school streets across the capital, covering a quarter of primary schools.
Walking is now the main way 58 per cent of primary children get to school, according to Transport for London.
It wants to increase this to 60 per cent by 2026.
Before the pandemic, a quarter of weekday morning rush hour car trips were for school drop-off.
Mr Khan, who was visiting Gayhurst Community School in Hackney, where 71 per cent of journeys are walked and 21 per cent cycled, said: “For London to become Net Zero by 2030, we need to reduce motor traffic by a third.
“The school run accounts for a quarter of morning traffic, so School Streets are a key tool in helping to drive down congestion, air pollution and road danger.
“We know children, parents and councils are keen to introduce even more. However, we won’t be able to fund schemes like School Streets if TfL has to enter a managed decline scenario due to lack of Government funding.”
Louise Nichols, executive headteacher at Gayhurst, said: “The atmosphere and safety around the school has improved dramatically.
“Families now arrive by crossing calm roads and enjoy meeting each other at the school gates without the pressure of speeding vehicles around them.
“Gayhurst Road used to be a short cut for van drivers and they were often oblivious to small children crossing the roads. The school street has been embraced by the whole community and we can’t imagine going back to how it was before.”
The first school street was launched in Camden in 2017. By 2019, there were fewer than 90. The vast majority of new school streets have been funded by TfL.
There are plans for 80 more school streets in 2022/23, subject to funding.
City Hall estimates that school streets reduce nitrogen dioxide by up to 23 per cent during morning drop off.
Islington council said its school streets cut the school run by 50 per cent in the morning and 39 per cent in the afternoon.
In Hackney, its initial pilot schemes resulted in a 51 per cent increase in cycling to school, a 30 per cent increase in walking and a 74 per cent reduction in tailpipe emissions. It has 48 school streets – more than any other borough.
School streets are either enforced by fixed or mobile CCTV cameras, with motorists breaching the restrictions at risk of a £130 ticket.
Hackney mayor Phil Glanville said compliance with school streets had improved, especially among residents. Only 14 per cent of people receiving a fine were Hackney residents, he said.
He said the school street visited by Mr Khan did not need to be enforced because it was one of the first to be established and residents obeyed the rules.
Mete Coban, Hackney’s cabinet member for transport, said 30 per cent of motorists breaching school street restrictions in the borough lived outside London.
A common problem in Hackney was caused by out-of-town motorists using smartphone apps diverting off the A12 and through residential streets in Homerton and London Fields to avoid congested main roads, he said.
Emma Best, a Tory member of the London Assembly, said: "School streets can work well when they are co-produced between the community, school, and local authority.
“However, an integral cog to decreasing car journeys to school is understanding the barriers parents and carers face in the mornings. This really hasn’t been explored or addressed.
“As part of school street expansion, the mayor, with local authorities, should look at more ‘carrot’ solutions such as breakfast clubs for those who are time poor and juggling multiple responsibilities in the morning. I have been advocating for this alongside my Conservative colleagues."
