Tottenham pupils to benefit from a new School Street

Pupils at Devonshire Hill Primary will join thousands of others benefitting from safer and healthier journeys for years to come after another School Street was approved.

The Cabinet decision last night (14 March) to introduce a new scheme in Tottenham will support hundreds of children to walk, cycle and wheel to school and improve air quality and road safety at the school gates.

Almost 6km of the borough’s streets have been converted to safe walking and cycling zones outside schools for pupils at drop-off and pick-up during term-time.

Only people walking and cycling, and those with vehicle exemption permits, will be eligible to enter the zone while the School Street is in operation.

Haringey has the fastest growing School Streets programme with 23 already implemented and a further 15 currently being consulted on as part of the council’s Streets for People initiative.

Cllr Mike Hakata, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport, said:

The school run makes up around 25% of all traffic and is why those times of day are often the most congested.  

For those who do not own a car, and in Tottenham, that equates to the majority of the population, that means getting to and from school is the most dangerous time of day for most children.

School Streets not only reduce road danger but incentivise healthier ways to get to school.  With 35% of Year 6 children in Haringey classed as overweight or obese, this can go a long way in addressing the borough's health inequalities.

I’m delighted this Streets for People scheme will give another community the opportunity for healthier and active lives.

In approving the new School Street, the council considered feedback from residents and the school, alongside traffic modelling carried out by London Borough of Enfield.

For more information on the School Streets programme go to: www.haringey.gov.uk/school-streets