Hundreds more children will be enjoying safer and healthier journeys for years to come after Haringey introduced two new School Streets this week, taking its tally to an impressive 26 for the borough.
The Streets for People initiatives will transform the start and end of the school day at Noel Park Primary and St Paul’s Catholic Primary, both in Wood Green.
More than 11,500 children at 30 educational establishments are now benefitting from zones spanning almost 7km during drop-off and pick-up times.
School Streets encourage more children to travel to and from school on foot, bike or scooter in a safe, fun and active way, cutting air pollution and creating a more pleasant environment at the school gates.
Cllr Mike Hakata, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport, said: “We are very proud of our rapidly expanding School Streets programme and the part it plays in building a fairer, greener borough.
“With massive reductions in motor traffic, increases in active travel and improved air quality around the school gates, our programme goes from strength to strength.
“I’m delighted we are introducing more Streets for People initiatives and children at two additional schools will have the opportunity for healthier and active lives.”
Haringey has one of the fastest growing School Streets programmes and aims to increase the number to 61 by 2026, transforming journeys and improving air quality at the school gates for up to 36,000 children.
Evidence shows a 42 per cent reduction in traffic across existing School Streets in the borough, as well as vehicle emissions (NOx) down by 26 per cent.
The new schemes are being introduced as part of Adaptive Wood Green - a set of council projects that aim to tackle air pollution, promote active travel to school, and improve facilities on offer within local green spaces.
The projects include multiple enhancements to the public realm and traffic safety measures such as rain gardens, widened footways at crossings, reduced crossing distances, cycle stands at the school entrance, accessibility improvements, and renewed paving, aiming to create a much more comfortable and liveable place to live, learn, work and play.
Cabinet gave the go-ahead for the introduction of the School Streets in October 2023 following an extensive listening and engagement exercise.
