Trafford Community Collective secured funding via Trafford Council and Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver and support 5 schools to set up and sustain School Streets.
A school street is a road outside a school with restrictions on motor traffic at school drop off and pick up times. At these times the road becomes a temporary walking, wheeling and cycling zone. School streets create a much safer environment around the school gates, raise the air quality in and around schools and improve health and wellbeing by encouraging families to walk, scoot or cycle to school. In addition, school streets can benefit children’s learning as travelling actively to school is linked to improved mood and increased concentration.
School streets are run by volunteers; often these include parents / grandparents, residents, councillors and members of the community who want to support the scheme
For more information please click here and you can get updates on School Streets on Facebook here
Around October 2024 there was much media coverage of the success of the project . Here is just some of that coverage:
Watch the videos below:
Read these articles:
The difference a walk to school can make – Manchester Evening News
The school streets scheme making a difference in Trafford | Messenger Newspapers
Council Leader joins Dame Sarah Storey and GM Mayor at school street (trafford.gov.uk)
After a year of the project Hannah Stanton, the Project Lead, produced these slides
to capture the work of the project and its amazing achievements
To celebrate one year of the project Hannah also wrote the following …
The Urmston School Street has just celebrated its first birthday with a day of festivities to mark a year since the project began. School Streets in Trafford are a collaborative project run by Trafford Council and Trafford Community Collective, with funding from TfGM.
Urmston Primary School kicked off the party early with a Big Family Walk to School, which saw more than 80 people walk, scoot or cycle from Golden Hill Park to the school, to the sound of disco beats.
Celebrations continued after school, with a birthday party kindly hosted by Urmston Primary School. The star of the show was Friends of the Earth’s jukebox bikes, which children loved pedalling to get the tunes going. The party also featured face painting, bunting decorating, chalking, bubbles, a “bling your bike / scooter / backpack” craft station and a Lego stall run by Urmston Library.
The School Street has been a great success thanks to a year of tireless work by the amazing group of volunteers, who have been out marshalling the road in all weathers. The volunteer team consists of parents, residents, councillors and people in the local community who support the aims of the project.
Their efforts have made the world of difference to the road, which features two primary schools (Urmston Primary and English Martyrs), Urmston Grammar School, Tiny Feet nursery and a play centre. Now over 1800 pupils can benefit from a much safer, healthier, calmer and more sociable environment.
The event was an opportunity to gather some feedback from parents and residents about the School Street, with lots of lovely comments being made about how much safer, healthier and more sociable the area outside the school now is.
“I like scooting with no cars.” Pupil
“I walk far more often and am less tempted to drive when it rains. I feel more confident and safe for the kids to walk and scoot to school.” Parent
“It’s now much calmer in the mornings around the schools. There is a real sense of camaraderie around the scheme. People have changed their habits, and it should be normalised to prioritise children’s safety around schools. I’m really proud to have helped make the School Street a success for the past year.” Volunteer
TCC’s School Streets Officer, Hannah Stanton, said, “It’s clear from the feedback that the Urmston School Street has made a big difference to the safety and wellbeing of the school community and residents on the road. It is always lovely when doing a shift on the School Street to watch children confidently walking, scooting and riding on the road and parents enjoying some time to socialise. I want to extend huge thanks to all the volunteers who have made this possible.”
Do you want to be part of the change? The volunteer team are looking for lots more people who can help out on the School Street now and then. No commitment needed – just join the WhatsApp group and sign up for a shift on a Sunday if you have some free time in the coming week. If you can help occasionally, please message Hannah: hannah@traffordcollective.org.uk / 07535 319 333.
The other School Street schemes in Trafford are at Victoria Park Infants School (Stretford), Seymour Park Primary School (Old Trafford), Tyntesfield (Sale) and St Hugh of Lincoln Primary (Stretford).
https://traffordcollective.org.uk/urmston-celebrates-one-year-of-school-streets
