Local sustainable travel group call for school streets in Worcester
They encourage active travel and can help tackle the climate crisis
A sustainable travel group in Worcester is calling for school streets to be rolled out.
A school street is a road outside a school which has temporary restrictions to vehicles during drop-off and pick-up times.
They've been trialled in counties across the country and help provide a safer environment for children and encourage families to find alternative, greener methods of commuting to and from the schoolgates.
They also help confront the wider issue of congestion and lower carbon emissions which not only provide health benefits but also tackle the climate crisis.
Danny Brothwell from Worcestershire Active Travel Partnership and Bike Worcester, said: "There are concerns from parents about cars in traffic and idling outside school gates.
"It then also encourages children and parents to walk, cycle or scoot to school so you have all the additional benefits to physical and mental health.
"This is also then about education children that they can actually get around by foot or bike and the knock on effect is that it educates the parents.
"And of course this is all set against the backdrop of climate change and the climate crisis which is the big problem looming on the horizon".
There are currently no school street trials planned for Worcester despite them being rolled out in neighbouring counties like Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
Danny says it's "extremely frustrating" and "feels sorry" for parents who are forced to choose the option to take their children to school in a car because of safety concerns.
Danny continued:
"It's really frustrating that the powers that be can't look to the evidence in other places and the benefits this has on society.
"Most school streets are being done on a trial basis and I think that is the key here. None of these schemes need to leap to being permanent.
"Maybe doing a school street for half a term, monitoring it and seeing if there are sustainable benefits is the way to go forward to looking to permanently install them".