Children on foot or by bike: citizen mobilization for school streets
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Half of the children would prefer to go to school on foot, by bike or on a scooter, and unaccompanied by car or motorbike. And almost everyone dreams of one school road. 47% of the interviewees speak in view of the third European mobilization “Streets for kids”, which will be held tomorrow, Friday 5 Mayand will see thousands of boys and girls all over Europe take to the streets with roundabouts, bicycle rides and street games to ask for more school roads.
There Clean Cities Campaign presents the results of the survey “School roads: what children think in Italy” commissioned to investigate how girls and boys move, how they would like to do it and the perception they have of the space in front of their schools.
According to the survey results, 88% of the children surveyed would like one school road, but only 7% of them currently have one. The survey found that 47% of the children surveyed are currently driven to school by car or motorbike, rising to 66% for primary school children.
28% of children say they want to go to school by bicycle or scooter, but currently only 3% do so. When asked why children in Italy don’t walk or cycle more, 48% of children said it was too dangerous.
In this sense, it should also be noted that about half of the children and young people interviewed would like to fewer cars around their schools, regardless of age and region of residence. Half of the children and young people interviewed would like more trees and green spaces around their schools. About a third of children and teenagers would like to multiple lanes and bike lanes to reach school, with peaks close to 50% for those attending middle and high schools.
Going to school on foot or by bike are mainly elementary and middle school boys and girls (between a quarter and half of the journeys).
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“The survey confirms that girls and boys in Italy claim the need for safe spaces where to play, of clean Air and of protected home-school routes where you can get around on foot and by bike. It is time for the administrations to take responsibility and build School Roads immediately in front of all schools. It is an urgency expressed by children, those directly interested in their future, but also by the data, experiences and trends in Europe towards cities with fewer cars and more sustainable mobility”, comments Anna Becchi, coordinator of the Strade Scolastiche campaign for Clean Cities Italy.
Why school roads?
School roads, i.e. the roads overlooked by schools closed to traffic, are an essential part of one sustainable and zero-emission mobility, which places space for people at the center and reduces the centrality of the car in our cities. In addition to reducing pollution and guaranteeing health and road safety, they promote free play and sport and help to encourage independence and the development of educating communities around our children. The school roads contribute to the process of making the “City 30”a project on which the debate has finally opened in Italy too.
School roads are a useful tool for reducing air pollution in the immediate vicinity of schools. This was seen in London, where they reduced nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 23% and significantly decreased vehicular traffic throughout the day.
The mobilizations in Italy
On Friday 5 May, girls and boys all over Europe will take to the streets for the third European mobilization “Streets for kids”, to play, cycle and walk to ask for free and safe spaces in front of schools. They will be beyond 80 events throughout Italy from Cagliari to Genoa, from San Benedetto Del Tronto to Verona; only the cities of Rome and Milan will participate with respectively 35 and 20 shares.
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TO Rome, have followed, with the previous and current administration, the declarations of wanting to start new school roads, between experiments and projects to be implemented. To date, however, only three or four are active and there are no certain times for the realization of the others. However, some municipalities are further ahead in planning, in particular the First Municipality, the Third and the Twelfth have sponsored the initiative of next May 5th.
Among the initiatives worth mentioning, in Via Monte Ruggero 30 in Rome, from 16.00 to 18.00, there will be an afternoon of games and street activities. They intervene Claudia PratelliCouncilor at the School of the Municipality of Rome, Eugenio PatanéCouncil for Mobility of the Municipality of Rome, Paolo MarchionnePresident of the Third Municipality, Anna Becchi, coordinator of the Strade Scolastiche campaign for Clean Cities Italy.
TO Milan, the “Streets for kids” day will follow the selection of the “Piazze Aperte per Ogni Scuola” projects, promoted by the Municipal Administration. Among the initiatives, in via Faravelli/Via Gattamelata, from 10.00 to 17.30, the street will be open to play, activities and workshops for children.
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