Parents And Children Pledged Their Support For A New School Street Scheme At Towers School.

“School Streets help to reduce pollution, increase active travel to and from school, and most importantly will make a big difference to children’s health.”

Local campaigner and activist for Havering Climate Coalition Ruth Kettle-Frisby today writes on the support a new school street scheme being proposed by Havering Council near Towers School in Hornchurch, has received by local parents and children

School Streets are so important in our car-heavy culture because children – especially marginalised children, poorer children, disabled children and those with existing health conditions – are among those who suffer from the worst health impacts of air pollution, so we encourage as many residents as possible to complete the consultation. 

It’s hard to appreciate just how harmful air pollution is for little lungs because it’s invisible, but it’s there, it’s real, and the less harmful emissions they breathe in, the healthier they will be.

Residents, carers and parents of children who are Blue Badge holders will be exempt from the scheme, as will be emergency, school transport and waste collection vehicles.

Finally, to debunk some myths you may have heard:

• Peer reviewed evidence shows that traffic reduction measures increase house prices. 

 • Research into School Streets traffic displacement shows that where this occurs, traffic also reduces, which means air quality and safety improves. Don’t let “displacement of traffic” mask the benefits to our children’s health and safety.  

 • School Streets is not a Council-led scheme, so it hasn’t been devised by them to make money; it is a community-led initiative to protect our children during pick up and drop off times, and to incentivise active travel like walking and cycling. 

Towers Schools consultation:

https://consultation.havering.gov.uk/highways/towers-schools-school-streets-consultation

You can find out more about School Streets here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-streets-how-to-set-up-and-manage-a-scheme

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.