Let’s bring School Streets to Gravesham!

The school run accounts for 30 per cent of rush-hour traffic. So in effect, nearly one-third of the pollution children are exposed to on their way to and at school is caused by getting them there. 

It’s not surprising to hear that children are strongly affected by air pollution because their lungs are still developing, they breathe more deeply, and due to their size they are often closer to exhausts that emit pollution than adults. Air pollution can exacerbate and cause wheezing and asthma, cancer, and long-term exposure can result in worsening cases of lung or cardiac disease amongst many other illnesses

BUT WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

School Streets is an initiative in which the roads around a school are simply closed during pick-up and drop-off times with exemptions for residents, teachers and others who need access.

To find out more, there is an upcoming webinar that will provide lots of useful information about School Streets, and how to implement them.

If you would like support in implementing one in Gravesham, get in touch and we will help!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mums-for-lungs-school-streets-webinar-tickets-1985993865112

Better Connected: a strategy for integrated transport

 

The government has recently announced their strategy for a more integrated transport system. As part of the strategy, they eight key priorities, including to:

Create healthier communities

Transport will help create healthier communities, where making healthy travel choices will be easy and convenient, supporting cleaner, quieter and more liveable places. To achieve this, we will improve walking, wheeling and cycling routes, improve integration between cycle and rail, and scale-up shared mobility. This is alongside delivering cleaner transport to improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, helping to reduce health inequalities.

We will strengthen statutory guidance for local transport authorities, making clear that pavements and cycle paths must be planned, maintained, and managed with the same priority as road infrastructure.

This is key, and will only be achieved with local communities holding the government (and local councils such as Kent County Council) to account. This will mean roads such as the A226 from Gravesend to Rochester are given the necessary funding to create safe, protected, and regularly maintained cycle paths to promote active travel and the benefits it brings.

The policy can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/.../better-connected-a-strategy-for...