THREAD: You might have seen the brilliant news about the 21 new school streets coming to Lambeth? But what exactly is a school street, and why are they so important?

First off, let’s start with some facts. Did you know that during morning rush hour, more than a quarter of the cars on the road are on the school run?

In real terms that means more than 250,000 cars on the road each morning are parents dropping their kid at school. If you queued these cars nose to tail they’d stretch for 1000km. That’s the same distance from London to Edinburgh.

Here’s another fact: over 2,000 schools and nurseries in England and Wales are within 150 metres of a road with illegal levels of air pollution. That means poison in the lungs of a hell of a lot of children.

Here’s one last fact for you: 4 out of 10 London kids are overweight or obese and eight out of ten don’t meet their recommended daily physical activity levels

What’s this got to do with school streets?

School street schemes close the school’s road to vehicles during peak drop off and pick up times. Signs, barriers, and cameras help with enforcement and stop non-residents driving through the area.

A generation ago, 70% of us walked to school. Now it’s about half that.* But using school streets, we can make the streets around schools safer — making walking or cycling a more attractive option for families.

*That's right, another fact.

Now let’s go back to those facts.

Imagine streets with a quarter of the traffic, replaced instead with families walking and cycling off to school together, meeting their neighbours, planning that play date, having a good old chat.

Imagine the air around schools and nurseries being clean and delicious. Where kids can play without fear of an asthma attack putting them in A&E.

Imagine a generation of kids who are fit and healthy and happy — who meet their daily hour of recommended physical activity and then some.

This world is possible. And with the introduction of 21 new school streets in Lambeth, we’re already part way there. This is just the beginning: but it’s a great beginning. https://twitter.com/lambeth_council/status/1283042010526552065

Want to learn more about school streets, including how you can campaign for one in your area? Read more here: https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/safer-routes-to-school