Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah Storey has joined forces with the Mayor of Greater Manchester to urge schools to make it safer for children to walk, wheel or cycle to school.

Dame Sarah and Mayor Andy Burnham will write to schools across the city-region inviting them to develop their own ‘School Street’ – to limit traffic during drop off and pick up time.

The ambition to boost the existing number of School Streets from 30 to 100 in the next four years was set out by the Mayor in his most recent manifesto, with Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah Storey tasked with taking the commitment forward with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

A letter from the Mayor and Commissioner will be sent to all schools in Greater Manchester via the 10 Local Authorities, inviting them to register their interest in launching their own scheme.

As part of the next step in delivering this manifesto commitment, the Mayor and Dame Sarah visited a School Street which is already having a positive impact in Old Trafford.

The pair joined a local family for their journey to Seymour Park Community Primary School, where they met other families alongside Trafford Council leader Tom Ross.

The school has delivered a range of measures to make it safer for families to walk, wheel and scoot, including closing roads to vehicles for a short period each day since January as part of a GM-wide pilot programme launched in 2021. The measures have seen car trips outside the school fall by 95% when the scheme is in place.

In most cases, a School Street consists of a range of measures outside to limit traffic during drop off and pick up time and create a pleasant child-friendly environment when the school gate is busiest.

Seymour Park is one of 30 School Streets operating in the region under the previous pilot – with those schemes largely manned by volunteer parents and residents to date.

Under new proposals, £1.3m will be invested with Local Authorities to develop the School Streets programme further, whereby School Streets can be made permanent, and be part of a range of interventions to ensure safer travel to school.

Currently around one-third of traffic at peak times in the morning or afternoon is from children being taken to school. Reducing reliance on car trips and encouraging healthier, more active lifestyles is key to improving health and wellbeing – with 22% of reception aged children and 39% of Year 6 children overweight or obese in Greater Manchester.

Dame Sarah and the Mayor’s visit comes as plans ramp up to deliver 100 School Streets by 2028, with schools across Greater Manchester invited to register their interest in launching their own scheme.

Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner, said: “School Travel is one of my six priorities in the Active Travel Mission and this School Streets programme is one of the ways in which we can start to make the journey to school safer for children, their families and school staff.

“Safety and convenience are two of the main barriers to people choosing to walk, wheel or cycle to school and interventions like School Streets are a good starting point for improving the whole journey for those travelling to school and onward about their day.

“It’s important we reach as many schools as possible to share the benefits of the School Streets programme which is why we have written this letter and are encouraging schools to register their interest.

“Once this is underway further work can be added in, which is part of the wider draft School Travel Strategy due to be presented to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority later this month.

“Generating a focus on schools travel is so important so that whole journeys can be catered for, and people given a genuine choice and alternative to having to use their car for the school drop off and pick up.”

School Streets are part of a wider Travel to School strategy, due to be presented to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority later this month, with a consultation set to follow later in the year.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “In my election manifesto, I pledged to create an expanded School Street programme in Greater Manchester, building on the pilot School Street scheme we launched in 2021 to help even more schools create safer travel in the coming years.

“The letter going out to all schools is the first step in making that commitment a reality, and I invite school communities, including parents, to get in touch if they are interested in launching a new School Street in their area. This isn’t about imposing schemes on people either, we just want to help facilitate new schemes where there is a wish from the community to have one.  

“Today at Seymour Park Community Primary School, I saw the positive impact a School Street can have on children, parents and the wider community, providing a safe and pleasant space for children walk, wheel, cycle and even scoot right up to the school gate.

 “We know that some parents and children don’t always feel safe walking to school, and we are working to change that. School Streets are a great first step for everyone and that’s why we will helping schools to deliver more in the coming years.”

Earlier this year, TfGM committed to invest £1.3m in the School Street programme. They secured grant funding from Active Travel England and the Department for Transport.

Research shows just half of Greater Manchester’s residents feel it is safe for children to walk to school – and just 42% believe it is safe for children to cycle to school.

There are already 30 School Streets across the city region. TfGM is looking to work with local councils to make this permanent and develop 70 further schemes, in consultation with local communities.  

In addition, TfGM will look to deliver up to 30 new or improved crossings at schools where we know there are no appropriate crossings. 

Cllr Tom Ross, Leader of Trafford Council, said: “Trafford Council is totally committed to active travel, and we encourage all our families to walk, wheel and cycle to school. We have a number of active travel schemes throughout the borough – all of which make travel safer, healthier and more beneficial to the environment.

“School Streets encourage active travel, which can help to improve physical and mental health for parents and children. The result is a safer, healthier, and better environment for everyone involved. I am delighted with the School Street at Seymour Park Primary – one of five in Trafford – and would like to also say a big thank you to all the school volunteers who have made it such a big success.”

PIC-TfGM