Turning political political pledges into Streets for Kids.

So, the election is over. We’ve all had a little lie down. Then there was half term. And now, finally, it’s time to get to grips with the new political landscape — which turns out to be a very different landscape.

It’s an exciting time for local politics. Across the four London boroughs where we campaigned, there has been a complete change in leadership. Both Hackney and Lewisham have moved from Labour to Green control, with their Mayors following suit. Meanwhile, in Southwark and Lambeth, the loss of overall Labour control has led to new coalitions with the Liberal Democrats and Greens.

This is a huge level of political change - and you could feel it during the election campaign itself. The run-up was fiercely competitive, with all the major parties keen to respond to the demands coming from you, our parent network, for safer streets for kids.

The last few months were a whirlwind of activity. From zebra rallies to bike buses led by the one and only Coach Balto, we made our voices heard. Our Show & Tell  events were a particular highlight—candidates found it very difficult to ignore road danger when being escorted by a 9 year old with a clipboard!

So what's next?

A fresh cohort of councillors is now finding their feet. As they learn the ropes of local governance, we have a unique window of opportunity. These new representatives need to be briefed on Streets for Kids. Friendly, persistent pressure from their own constituents is what turns policy pledges into signs on the streets and spades in the ground.

We urge you to reach out to your local representatives, whether they are new to the role or returning. You can drop them an email or, better yet, visit them at a monthly surgery. Here is how to make an impact:

Key Tips

• Congratulate them on their successful election.

• Explain the specific hazards near your school and your proposed fixes.

• Remind them of their party's manifesto commitments (all listed below!)

• Highlight any personal pledges they made during the campaign (all listed below!).

• Request tangible, timed actions. Ask them to check eligibility for school streets or invite them for a walk-through during the morning rush.

• Bring a campaign poster and snap a photo for Solve social media.

• Update your local Solve WhatsApp group with the results of your meeting.

• Always follow up in writing to confirm what was agreed. 

👉 GRAB YOUR STREETS FOR KIDS POSTER HERE

We have detailed the specific commitments made by our target boroughs below, along with a list of councillors who have already signed our pledge.

If you need any help getting started, please reach out to us here.

Join the conversation!

Our parent networks in Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, and Hackney are growing fast. To stay in the loop and help drive change in these areas, join your Solve borough WhatsApp network here.

Who made commitments? All the info you need right here!

Here's what we asked the parties and candidates to commit to and a list of who committed to what.

1. An effective school street for every school. I support implementing school streets at both primary and secondary schools. These should be substantial and effectively enforced by bollards or cameras and so deliver the full benefits of a school street to children. 

2. Cargo bike access for every family.   Cargo bikes are often the quickest and most convenient way to transport young children for local trips, and have huge potential to reduce car trips to schools.  When in power, I will support the direction of funds toward affordable purchase schemes, secure storage infrastructure and community hire programmes. 

3. The reallocation of kerb space in child-friendly ways.  Stationary vehicles (parked 96% of the time) dominate pavements and block sight lines. I support the creation of space on our kerb sides that make them more child-friendly, including clearer sight lines, more pedestrian crossings, parklets and active travel bays, plus fairer parking tariffs to discourage oversized SUVs. 

(You can find full details of our Streets for Kids manifesto here).

LAMBETH

Transport Cabinet Lead Ciara Alleyne (Green Party)

Green Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will introduce school streets around every Lambeth school, with appropriate bollards and cameras, and ensure that all schools have a transport strategy for drop off and pick up.

2. Reduce existing barriers to family cargo bike use through providing secure kerbside storage for these bikes and expanding appropriate subsidies.

3. Work towards a child-friendly kerbside, prioritising play, green space, and safe crossings.

Labour Party Manifesto Commitments

Lambeth Labour did not make specific transport commitments in their manifesto, though they did commit to more cycle hangars and simple and fairer parking system.

Councillor email addresses and surgery details.

You can find all these on the Lambeth council website here.

Councillors who pledged to implement Streets for Kids:

	Ward	Name	Party
Lambeth	Herne Hill & Loughborough Junction	Alan Andrews	Green
Lambeth	Herne Hill & Loughborough Junction	Paul Valentine	Green
Lambeth	Knights Hill	Elizabeth Fraser	Green
Lambeth	Knights Hill	Lisa Schulkind	Green
Lambeth	St Martin’s	Jeremy Isaacs	Green
Lambeth	Streatham Hill East	Martin Abrams	Green
Lambeth	West Dulwich	Tom Palmer	Green
Lambeth	Gipsy Hill	Pete Elliot	Green

LEWISHAM

Transport Cabinet Lead

Corin Ashwell (Green Party)

Green Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will expand School Streets, walking and cycling networks.

2. And deliver infrastructure for electric vehicles and cargo bikes.

3. Upgrade streets with safer crossings, drop kerbs for prams, wheelchairs and powered wheelchairs, and expand cycle parking.

Labour Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will continue our School Streets program to support more children to walk, cycle and scoot to school.

2. We will work with companies who offer cargo bike hire for both businesses and residents.

Councillor email addresses and surgery details.

You can find all these on the Lewisham council website here.

Councillors who have pledged to implement Streets for Kids:

Borough	Ward/Role	Name	Party
Lewisham	Mayor, Crofton Park	Liam Shrivastava	Green
Lewisham	Transport Cabinet Lead, Sydenham Ward	Corin Ashwell	Green
Lewisham	Brockley	Rotimi Skyers	Green
Lewisham	Brockley	Ade Adewunmi	Green
Lewisham	Catford South	Briony Edwards	Green
Lewisham	Forest Hill	Fergus Navaratnam-Blair	Green
Lewisham	Forest Hill	Annabelle Roberts	Green
Lewisham	Hither Green	Eleonora Aiello	Green
Lewisham	Ladywell	Robin McGhee	Green
Lewisham	Lee Green	Laura Sessions	Green
Lewisham	New Cross Gate	Ruth Persian	Green
Lewisham	Perryvale	Justin Calcutt Cheadle	Green
Lewisham	Rushey Green	Samantha Gardiner	Green
Lewisham	Sydenham	Corin Ashwell	Green
Lewisham	Sydenham	Markus Michelucci	Green
Lewisham	Sydenham	Tanya Dunne	Green
Lewisham	Telegraph Hill	Becky Sanders	Green
Lewisham	Telegraph Hill	Kate Anderson	Green
Lewisham	Telegraph Hill	Nick Torry	Green

HACKNEY

Transport Cabinet Lead

Jacob Cable (Green Party)

Green Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will create traffic-free School Streets for all eligible primary and secondary schools, as well as introducing them at colleges.

2. We will work to expand the network of e-cargo bike hire schemes across Hackney.

3. We will design and implement a Kerbside and Parking Strategy to bring new life to kerbside spaces for safer crossings, greater accessibility, public seating, climate resilience and increased urban biodiversity. Introduce new car parking permit structures that reflect vehicle size, weight and emissions, to deter the use of SUVs and ensure people pay their fair share to improve the safety and accessibility of our roads.

Labour Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will increase our school streets enforcement

2. We will look for ways to use our kerbside more effectively, from parking for people with disabilities, managing dockless bike hires and cargo bikes.

Councillor email addresses and surgery details.

You can find all these on the Hackney council website here.

Councillors who have pledged to implement Streets for Kids:

Borough	Cazenove	Emma Neath	Green
Hackney	Clissold	George Sheldon Grün	Green
Hackney	De Beauvoir	Gemma Per-Bo	Green
Hackney	Hackney Downs	Alastair Binnie-Lubbock	Green
Hackney	Hoxton East & Shoreditch	Mihai Chereji	Green
Hackney	Hoxton East & Shoreditch	Janet Lee	Green
Hackney	Hoxton West	Nicholas Blincoe	Green
Hackney	King’s Park	Jasmine O’Connor	Green
Hackney	Lea Bridge	Bettina Maidment	Green
Hackney	London Fields	Kwame Otiende	Green
Hackney	Stoke Newington	Reiner Tegtmeyer	Green

SOUTHWARK

Transport Cabinet Lead & Leader of the Council

James McAsh (Green Party)

Green Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will deliver a School Street for every eligible school and make children’s safety a priority.

2. Install new cycle lanes, cycle hangars and more cycle parking, including for cargo bikes and adapted cycles.

Labour Party Manifesto Commitments

1. We will guarantee a School Street fore very eligible school by 2030.

2. We will increase funding for cargo bikes with more storage spaces and bike share schemes, to help families reduce the miles they drive.

3. We will continue to invest in new crossings and cycle hangars where our communities need them, while expanding walking and cycle routes. This will include making more of our kerbside child-friendly with safer crossings and other road improvements.

Councillor email addresses and surgery details.

You can find all these on the Southwark website here.

Councillors who have pledged to implement Streets for Kids:

There are no Southwark individual pledges, due to a lack of personal email addresses for the councillors before the election.

-ENDS-