Should We Ban Cars Around Schools?

The London Mayor Sadiq Khan has suggested banning cars from all roads adjacent to schools, in a bid to encourage parents to leave their cars at home and walk their children to school each morning. The proposal is the latest in a string of ideas from the Mayor about how to tackle London’s terrible air pollution problems, especially with regard to protecting young lungs.

London fighting an uphill battle

The UK capital has long fallen afoul of EU regulations regarding air quality, and is one of 16 zones across the country which has been sent a “final warning” by the European Commission for its failure to address the problem adequately.

In fact, the problem is so bad in some regions of the metropolis that this year, Brixton Road surpassed the legal limits for nitrogen dioxide in just five days – the limits were intended to apply to the entire year.

Clearly, something must be done to improve air quality and reduce transport-related pollution and the new Mayor, who replaced his predecessor Boris Johnson in May last year, seems intent on providing real solutions in a tangible timeframe. Already he has promised to introduce ultra-low emissions zones (ULEZs) ahead of schedule and is now focusing his efforts specifically on areas frequented by children.

Young lungs at increased risk

Because children’s lungs are smaller and less developed than an adult’s respiratory system, they are less able to cope with harmful pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxide. In particular, children exposed to high levels of contaminants in the air have been found to suffer an increased risk of developing respiratory and cardiovascular problems, as well as suffering from mental illness in later life.

At the beginning of the year, a leading Labour Party peer called for youngsters to be banned from London's playgrounds on days when air pollution levels were particularly troublesome. Measures such as these might sound drastic, but something must be done to curb the harm being wrought on our future generations and Mayor Khan believes a blanket ban on diesel engines is too simplistic a response.

Rather, Khan has hit out at the government for its ongoing neglect of the issue and demanded that action be taken. “The reason why I’m so angry about this and it’s a priority for me is that the science and the evidence is unarguable and yet it appears the government is ignoring it,” he said. “Forty or fifty years ago we thought smoking was bad and yet our forebears took no action. We know air quality is a killer, it makes you sick and no action has been taken. It’s a health emergency.”

Camden Council leading the way

Traffic has already been restricted around certain schools by Camden Council, as it has by the City of London as well – and now Khan would like to see the remaining 31 boroughs of the capital follow their example.

“You can’t play politics with people’s lives and people’s health,” he went on. “Every day action is delayed it means another young person breathing in this toxic air, an older person having breathing problems because of the poor quality of the air and literally people die.”

“Why can’t we work with schools and councils to have some roads outside schools where cars aren’t allowed to go? Really encourage mums, dads, carers and children to walk to school. It will be safer and you are not breathing in toxic air when playing in the playground.”