The Solutions
The school run, solved
We know exactly what makes a school run safe and joyful—and the good news? Today, many of the solutions are already out there. The challenge is that local authorities are often moving too slowly in adopting them. While they wait, our children are missing out on the freedom and independence they deserve.
We aren't just waiting for change—we’re building it. By working together, we can speed things up and reclaim our roads for our kids.
Here are some of the proven solutions that can make children’s journeys safer, cleaner, and happier
School Streets
Imagine a school gate free from traffic. By restricting drivers in the streets around a school during drop-off and pick-up, a child-friendly school street creates a safe space for children to walk, scoot, or cycle. It’s a proven, simple way to cut pollution and stress and there are already over 1,000 of them around the country.
Zebra crossings
Zebra crossings give children a safe, prioritised places to cross the road where drivers can easily see them. It’s important to have them near schools, so families can get there safely. We are also seeing a new kind of zebra being implemented, a ‘side-road zebra’. This new invention gives pedestrians right of way over drivers turning into junctions. Cheaper to implement than standards zebras, they are a cost effective way to ensure children can navigate their neighbourhood independently, without having to wait endlessly for gaps in traffic to safely cross.
20mph zones
Speed changes everything. Lowering limits to 20mph significantly reduces the risk of injury and gives children a much better chance of survival if they are hit by a driver. Reducing traffic speeds makes our streets safer for everyone.
Controlled parking zones
Pavements cluttered with parked vehicles hide children from view. And how can children cross the road, when they can’t even see past lines of parked cars? Managing parking spaces to create better sightlines is vital and often the most overlooked part of road safety. By reducing the number of vehicles parked near school gates, we lower the risk of collisions and injury to our children.
Protected bike lanes
Safe, segregated bike lanes give children the freedom to cycle and parents the confidence to leave the car at home. When we separate bikes from drivers, we make journeys faster, healthier, and - crucially - safer. Older children can use them unaccompanied, freeing up parents from unnecessary trips. Segregated bike lanes equal childhood freedom AND parent freedom. Win win. Extra win? There are no traffic jams in a bike lane.
Cargo Bikes
Cargo bikes are often seen as a nice-to-have, but for parents who have them, they soon become essential. They carry children on the front or the back, while the parent controls the bike - they can seat up to 4 kids and bags! In a cargo bike you can dodge traffic jams, cruise through parks, or glide along a bike lane. Most of them are electric, which makes hills a breeze. It’s the cleaner, faster way to travel and kids love them.
Downsizing SUVs
Over the last 20 years SUVs have been getting bigger in size and greater in number (carspreading). These huge cars are a huge risk to children running, scooting and playing around schools. Smaller cars that pose less risk to children in the public realm, take up less space and less fuel are a key component of a healthier streetscape. However, since SUVs make higher profit margins it is now difficult for families to actually buy a smaller cars as there are so few on the market. The government needs to step in, to introduce sensible policies like bonnet height limits to protect kids, and to disincentive SUVs in favour of smaller, safer, sensible cars.
We’re supporting parent communities across London create safer, healthier streets around their schools.