Hounslow Council shared School Streets data with UCL's Bartlett School of Planning students, supporting their learning, offering 'valuable' insights for cleaner air and active travel interventions around council schools.

The council is helping the students with their Transport Consultancy module, providing an opportunity to work with its experts on real life transport projects, with a focus on School Streets.

For example, the closure of roads outside the borough's schools at drop-off and pick-up times.

Hounslow Council has introduced School Streets at 37 schools, this helps parents, carers and children to feel safer walking and cycling to school.

The council also supports school children with special pedestrian and cycle safety training sessions, helping children to take care and be safer on the pavement and when crossing the road.

UCL students were invited on a tour of three Hounslow School Streets, where they visited Hounslow Town Primary, which opened its School Street in 2020.

The group also visited some newer School Streets at Alexandra Primary and Kingsley Academy, which both introduced School Streets in 2023.

Beyond the schools, UCL's budding city and transport planners also visited Hounslow Central, where they saw the borough's e-bike bays and electric vehicle charge points.

Hounslow Council says the students were also impressed with the pedestrianised High Street in Hounslow Central.

Council officers helped the students understand the wider context, by outlining Hounslow's transport strategy and suppling air quality, traffic data and other information related to the five schools allocated to the students for their projects.

UCL students presented their initial findings in early February.

A panel of Hounslow, Sustrans and UCL staff were impressed with the range of quick win interventions suggested to improve the School Streets, these included: greening, artwork, seating, and wayfinding.

The students will go on to produce a detailed package of measures, providing Hounslow Council with recommendations to support its School Streets programme.

Cllr Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, said: "We believe in supporting young people and learning, and are happy to offer our data and expertise to help these talented UCL students.

"By sharing knowledge, we can work to help clean the air and improve safety for children, families and school staff, at the school gates.

"We achieve so much more when we work together, and improving air quality and and road safety are important aims.

"We hope that this collaboration with the council, UCL and Sustrans, will open up new ideas and create exciting opportunities for all involved."

Dr Iqbal Hamiduddin, Associate Professor in Transport Planning and Housing, said: "This collaboration provides our MSc students with a rare set of opportunities to work with a progressive London borough to undertake a meaningful piece of transport consultancy work, whilst developing new skills and 'hands-on' experience.

"It is a wonderful opportunity for the students to help shape future School Street interventions in Hounslow and to collaborate with Sustrans in their important mission to promote sustainable mobility and active travel, particularly among younger age groups."

Kai Chappell, MSc Student, UCL, said: "Working with Hounslow Council on real-world schemes has provided practical skills which are directly transferable to the transport planning environment.

"Whether that's through working with stakeholders, analysing data or presenting and refining options, we're excited to have the opportunity to refine schemes which have a real impact on residents, and we hope the council is benefitting as much as we are from the experience."

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