News / Transport
Bristol named UK’s best city for child-friendly streets
Bristol is “heading in the right direction” when it comes to having safe roads for children according to the council’s transport supremo.
It comes as our city has been ranked as the UK’s best city and eighth in Europe for child-friendly streets.
The analysis by Clean Cities measures 36 European cities “to see how they’re progressing in creating transport systems that prioritise the needs of children”, with Paris rated as the best ahead of Amsterdam, Antwerp and Brussels.
is needed now More than ever
Clean Cities describe themselves as “Europe’s largest network of organisations on a mission to build public support for cities to shift from polluting vehicles to active, shared and electric mobility”.
Their rankings are based on the share of primary schools with School Streets (a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times), the share of road network with a 30kmh speed limit or lower and the ratio of protected cycling infrastructure to the total road network.
Only around half of primary school aged children walk to school – photo: Martin Booth
Ed Plowden, chair of Bristol City Council’s transport & connectivity committee, said: “I am delighted to see that we are heading in the right direction and that work to prioritise safer streets for our children to walk, wheel and cycle to school is showing results.
“The ability of children to find freedom by moving around our city safely is so important to their development.
“Despite being such a hilly city, we have lots of committed cyclists, but we know there is plenty more we need to do to support them.
“Through major transport corridor projects, such as the city centre scheme, we are planning to add many more miles of segregated cycleways across Bristol in the coming years and we are working to improve key active travel routes such as Concorde Way.”
A section of Concorde Way in Lockleaze was meant to close for only six months but has now been shut for more than four years – photo: Aarun Parmar-Cunio
Main photo by Zoe Pencils of a Playing Out event at Hotwells Primary School
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