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2026 London Elections Ask your council for streets for kids! London's streets are a hostile place for children and the school run is the most dangerous and polluted part of their day. We want streets to be safer, healthier and more joyful for our kids. A safer, healthier, more joyful school run The Streets for Kids Manifesto Reallocate kerb space in child friendly ways. An effective school street for every school. Access to a cargo bike for every family. Download the manifesto in full Want streets for kids in your neighbourhood? Use our quick email tool to write to your London council candidates today. WRITE TO THEM emails sent so far - add your voice today! We are calling for every London councillor candidate to commit to our Streets for Kids asks: An effective school street for every school. A school street is where the road by a school is closed to traffic during the hours of school drop off and pick up, to prioritise the health and safety of the majority of families who are walking or wheeling to school. Exemptions are provided for residents, blue badge holders and SEND pupils. Currently there are over 800 school streets in London, but they vary in their ability to protect children. We want effective school streets and this means they should be: Substantial - when only a small area outside the school gates is closed, a school street can present the same dangers as before, just in different locations. A school street has to be big enough to disperse traffic so there are no seriously problematic points that children have to pass through to get to school. It should be a significant amount of the road the school is on, and additional adjacent roads which are impacted by school traffic. Enforced - permanent cameras or bollards are effective ways of restricting cars from accessing the school street area. They are reliable and do not depend on volunteers or sporadic monitoring by mobile camera units. Once boroughs have implemented effective school streets, they should connect them together to create joined up school street networks . These are made by linking effective school streets together, using timed restrictions on the roads that connect them. These networks fully realise the potential of school streets by giving children a comprehensive car-free route on which they can walk or cycle the majority of their school run safely. Measurement: Number of effective school streets and school street networks in the borough by 2030. Access to a cargo bike for every family Electric Cargo bikes have huge, yet largely untapped, potential in the UK. In other countries, they are a normal, everyday way for families to travel—especially for school runs and local trips—usually serving as a car replacement to create safer, calmer streets. They can often be the quickest and most convenient way to transport children for local trips and they are significantly cheaper than owning or travelling by car. A recent trial of loaning e-cargo bikes to households in UK cities that were relatively car-dependent led to more than 50% of car-use being switched to e-cargo bikes. Less car journeys make the roads safer for those walking and cycling. One in five of the households purchased an e-cargo bike at the end of the trial. But right now, those barriers are too high. The upfront cost of an e-cargo bike, the lack of secure storage, and the fear of having to ride on busy, hostile roads make it an unfeasible option for many families—especially those on lower incomes who could benefit the most from cheaper, healthier travel. We believe boroughs can deliver a step change by committing to a dedicated cargo-bike fund to unlock the potential of family cargo bike use in London to make it more accessible and equitable. This would include: Delivering secure cargo bike parking options including overnight (residential) and destination parking. Subsidising the purchase of cargo bikes, especially for low income households. Investing in community trials and cargo bike share schemes that focus on accessibility, training and behaviour change. Measurement: Percentage of kerbside dedicated to these child-friendly measures and implementation of fairer parking tarriffs. Reallocate kerb space in child-friendly ways Children now are “the least active generation ever,” and with 20% of London’s children having no access to a garden, it is important that they are able to safely navigate the world on their doorstep. Cars are stationary 96% of the time, parked at the kerbside, dominating the pavements of many London boroughs. Add to this the huge growth in SUVs - from 3% to 30% of London’s cars in 20 years - and it is becoming impossible for children to see past the cars to safely cross their local streets. Boroughs should prioritise the kerbside as much as possible in favour of child-friendly measures that help kids to be safer, more active and healthy. We are asking councils to deliver a dedicated kerbside strategy by 2027 that will enable them to: Increase double yellow lines, zig zag lines and informal crossings so children can see and be seen. Install more parklets, cycle hangars, shared-use mobility bays and greenery whilst maintaining safe sight lines. Introduce fairer parking tariffs to discourage carspreading, when cars are unnecessarily large and dangerous. Measurement: Level of council funds directed to enabling household cargo bike uptake. Let your council candidates know you want streets for kids. Use our quick email tool to make your voice heard. WRITE TO THEM Download the manifesto in full Newsroom Press Release Mum shares story of her 12 year old daughter's hit and run as research shows an entire primary school injured every year during school run. Partners Get Involved Interested in becoming a partner or campaigner in your borough? CONTACT US

Curious about becoming a school mobiliser? Find out what it’s all about and how everyday parents are creating safer, healthier school runs Start changing the streets around your school Primary school starts, another little one comes along, you've got no time. The system feels like it takes over. Parents rush, drivers crowd the school gates, and the daily school run feels like a constant struggle. Then, secondary school looms. You’re worried about the new, dangerous routes your child faces alone. There is so much traffic and road danger, but no obvious solutions. Where do you even start? Right here! There's been a massive shift. Everyday parents like you are stepping up to say: our families deserve better. They’re starting conversations, hosting events, and lobbying councillors to change the streets around their schools—one crossing at a time. Want to break the cycle and create lasting change? Becoming a School Mobiliser is one of the most effective ways to reclaim your streets, improve the air, and protect our climate. Become a school mobilser School Mobilisers start raising awareness about the danger and pollution on the streets on the way to school. They’re parents who care – and who bring others together to build SOLVE momentum. You don’t need to be an expert. We certainly weren’t when we got started. And we know parents have zero free time so you don’t need a lot of that either. You do however need patience, (we’re not going to lie, street changes can take a few years). Trust us, you’ll find a lot of fellow parent voices at your school AND we’ve got a whole connected, supportive community waiting for you. With our plug and play resources and a little support from us, you can change not just the culture at your school, but the streets around it too. A school street, a few zebra crossings and suddenly parents are letting go and kids are being kids again. And when you step up to change your school - you’re inspiring other schools to do the same. Nobody wants road danger and pollution, but many people don’t know there’s a better way, Time for us to show them! What being a School Mobiliser looks like All school journeys look different, and everybody is volunteering so it’s best efforts - but here are some of the things school mobilisers might help with. What school mobilisers do: Start a school SOLVE WhatsApp group Chat to fellow parents Run a Streets for Kids event Discuss SOLVE with your school leaders Email and speak your politicians (quite a lot!) How we support you A supportive parent community every step of the way A dedicated support rep for your school group Ready-to-go materials and guides Top tips from other Mobilisers Become a SOLVE School Mobiliser Want to help in another way? If you don’t have children in primary or secondary school – or you’re interested in building support across your area – you can join or request a London Borough WhatsApp group here . Or maybe there’s another way you’d like to get involved ? Get in touch here - we’re all ears.

Sign up to join your local Solve the School Run parent WhatsApp community. Connect with nearby parents, find your borough group, and help create safer, healthier school streets. Join your SOLVE WhatsApp community Our free groups enable you to connect with likeminded parents and feel inspired and supported in taking steps to create safer, healthier journeys for your kids. Find your school or borough group below. If you’re school isn’t listed - we can set a WhatsApp group up for you that's connected to our SOLVE community - if you register your interest on our school mobilser page here . If you’re borough isn’t listed you can request a new borough WhatsApp group in the selection below. Borough or School First name Last name Email I have read and agree to the Solve WhatsApp disclaimer and group rules (below) * Submit WhatsApp disclaimer and code of conduct The Solve WhatsApp network is a space to collaborate constructively and share learnings and ideas on ways to make it safer and healthier for children to walk, cycle or scoot to school. By joining and participating, you agree to the following: 1. Responsibility – Solve the School Run is not responsible for the content shared in this group including messages, links or external content. Members should understand this and keep it in mind before interacting in the group. 2. Behaviour and tone - be respectful and constructive, disagree politely, no personal attacks, harassment or discrimination. 3. Content – Please stay on topic. Keep messages relevant to the themes of safer and healthier streets for children around schools in your area. 4. Inclusion - if only one or two people are dominating a conversation that can be a sign that other people are feeling excluded or uncomfortable. Take time to invite people's opinions, encourage comments and give people time to respond. 5. Respect privacy, phone numbers are visible, so don’t share messages or screenshots or personal information outside the group without consent. 6. No Liability for Scams & Fraud – Solve the School Run is not liable for scams, fraudulent schemes, or financial transactions taking place within this group. Members should be vigilant and report suspicious activity immediately. 7. Reporting Misuse – If you notice inappropriate behaviour, content, scams, or have security concerns, please message the group admin or contact hello@solvetheschoolrun.or g. 8. No Commercial Use – This is a community group solicitation, financial requests, or commercial promotions are strictly prohibited. 9. Systems problem not a people problem – remember we’re not here to judge others, we’re here to challenge the systemic issues with street design around our schools that allow cars to dominate and make the area unsafe for children. 10. Code of Conduct – Please familiarise yourself with the Solve Community Code of Conduct . Solve reserves the right to remove individuals who violate group rules. By remaining in the network, you acknowledge that Solve bears no responsibility for third- party interactions and that participation is at your own risk.

Ready to bring safer, child-friendly streets and freedom to your children's school run? Sign up to become a school organiser and connect with local parents today. Sign up to become a school mobilser (we'll help you!) City Leaders have woken up, they can see that child friendly streets are climate friendly streets. But implementation can be slow. Becoming a school mobiliser is the most effective way to speed it up and change the streets around your school so your kids can benefit. Primary or secondary school, let's get going! You don’t need a lot of time or knowledge- simply starting conversations and connecting with likeminded parents can spark lasting change in your community. And we’re here to support you. When you sign up, we’ll send you a WhatsApp link for your school that’s connected to our community and some simple resources to get going. Or if you're school is already up and running, we'll connect you through. Read more about becoming a school mobiliser here . Please note we are only operating in London for the time being. We look forward to meeting you! First name Last name Email School Name School postcode School Borough or County Please tick to confirm you read our WhatsApp code of conduct * Please send me monthly news and updates Sign up >

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We’re a parent-powered network in London working to give children back their freedom. Join us to transform our streets, reduce pollution, and make the school run safer for everyone. Our Story Making safer streets the norm Born at the school gates in 2019, we were two parents, fed up with the congestion and chaos on the school run each day. Now we’re a parent-powered network of hundreds, working together to give children back their freedom. We successfully campaigned for car-free school streets, zebra crossings, controlled parking zones and bike lanes around our school. But we want these everywhere, for every child. So we’re using our collective voice to highlight how our streets are systemically failing to protect our children - a voice that has been missing from this debate. We’re not anti-car, we’re pro-childhood. Born at the school gate Our organisation was born from a shared daily struggle: the chaos of traffic, road danger, and toxic air pollution around our children’s South London primary school. We looked at the gridlocked roads and we realised that although “normal” this situation was completely unacceptable. Despite this, it was happening around schools all over the country. From individual guilt to collective action We decided to stop waiting for change and started building it. We shifted the conversation from individual parent guilt - who is driving their child five minutes to school? - to systemic infrastructure change; We need a child-friendly school street! Zebra crossings! A less car-clogged kerbside so kids can safely cross the road! By uniting with other parents, we showed how big an appetite there is for change. Turning vision into reality And it worked. By mobilising the school community at our own primary school, and developing respectful relationships with our politicians, we secured a child-friendly school street, a dedicated bike lane, 12 new zebra crossings, and a controlled parking zone. These aren’t just infrastructure projects - they’re the reason families can finally walk and cycle to school without the old fear and stress. And we want everyone to have them. Spreading the freedom We started with local events around our kids’ school - bike buses, walking buses, zebra rallies - and from this we have grown into a London-wide network. We connect parents to turn community frustration into active, positive pressure on local councils. Twice a year we hold a series of Streets for Kids events with our partners Clean Cities to highlight the problems and solutions our children encounter daily. Local councillors are invited to see the danger their constituents face. Evidence-led & parent-powered Now we’re a grassroots network of hundreds of parents across London. We back our campaigns with solid evidence: When 443 children are injured on London streets every year, it isn't an accident, it’s evidence of a system that’s failing our kids. By combining hard data with our collective voice, we force councils to prioritise children. Safe, child-friendly streets aren’t just a nice-to-have. They’re essential.