What is a School Street?
A School Street is a road outside a school that is closed during school drop-off and pick-up times. This reduces the traffic and inappropriate parking in the road outside the school at key times so creates a much safer and pleasant place for people to access the school.
A School Street scheme encourages walking, wheeling, or cycling to school, enabling:
- A more enjoyable environment around the school
- Improved air quality
- Improved road safety
A School Street therefore has benefits for local residents, as well as the school community.
What is a School Neighbourhood Project?
A School Neighbourhood Project involves a wider area incorporating schools and the local community, with an aim to make journeys to school safer, whilst creating a more inviting local environment for walking, wheeling and cycling over a wider area.
Such projects develop community-led solutions to local issues, thinking about ways to improve road safety and help everyone to make more active journeys. The potential improvements identified can then benefit the whole community.
Solutions and potential improvements may include traffic calming over a wider area, filtering of streets, widening of pavements, improved lighting, improved green spaces and new or improved crossing points. A School Neighbourhood may also include specific School Streets, where a road is closed near the entrance of a school during school drop-off and pick-up times.
By focusing on journeys across a wider neighbourhood area, potential design solutions will have a wider positive impact and benefits will be felt by everyone making local journeys in the area.
Our School Neighbourhood Projects aim to develop a prioritised list of solutions and improvements, which the Council can work to implement in line with appropriate funding availability.
Working with Communities
Sefton Council in partnership with key delivery partners are working with numerous schools and local community groups to gain insights into how to make walking, wheeling, or cycling into school safer for children in Sefton.
Our School Street and Neighbourhood projects consider the specific challenges faced on the journey to school and the surrounding neighbourhood. Pupils and the local school community work with us to find solutions that work for everyone.
Current Projects
Some of our current projects are:
- Southport School Streets and Neighbourhoods
- Bootle North Park School Neighbourhood
- Norwood School Neighbourhood
- Other School Streets Projects
Why are School Streets and Neighbourhoods Projects so important?
More than 1,000 deaths a year in the Liverpool City Region are linked to air pollution. Introducing a School Street reduces the number of cars around school when pupils are travelling into school.
Babies and young people breathe in up to 60% more air pollution on the school run by being closer to the ground. Every minute an idling car produces enough toxic exhaust to fill 150 balloons.
The Sefton School Street and Neighbourhood initiatives reduce congestion around schools, and improve health and wellbeing, as well as tackling climate change.
Our School Street and School Neighbourhood initiatives not only reduce pollution around the school gates but make the journey to school safer and more enjoyable. Travelling actively to school also improves young people’s mood and improves focus in the classroom.