Every Pupil deserves the right to walk safely to school.

We know how many people are desperate for a solution to the nightmare of the school run.

I'm Sarah Nield. I'm a Councillor and also parent to two children at school in Brighton and Hove. Along with the many other parents who have contacted me - 

I WANT SAFE SCHOOL WALKING ZONES. Please join my campaign.

We all want more kids to walk to school: it's good for their health, it combats air pollution  - so let’s make it a genuine option for our young people.

Schools encourage students to walk. 5,10 and 15 minute walking zones are mapped out around them. But families often find that these walking zones are not actually safe to walk in. Walking zones which contain busy, dangerous roads with no crossing points make a mockery of ‘Walk to School’ initiatives. 

Communities who campaign for crossings around their school are often stonewalled with statistics - and told that ‘nothing can be done’ until an accident happens.

But there is an alternative...

We want Safe School Walking Zones.

We’re pushing for practical action that will make a real difference to the school run. 

School Walking Zones would mean parents would no longer have to beg for a single crossing at the worst point of their journey. Instead of just encouragement, children should have the right to walk safely to school, with the changes put in place to make it possible, and the support given to schools to deliver.

This campaign is calling for:

• 1: New council policy which says all schools will be supported to develop Safe School Walking Zones, and that the necessary crossings and road markings will be added within schools’ 10 min walking zones to create them.
• 2: Safe School Walking Zones to be clearly visually marked throughout so drivers cannot miss the fact they are in one.
• 3: Consultation with schools and their communities, so that people can share their ideas on how to make a Safe School Walking Zone.

The idea is simple, but the project is big, and the shift in priorities it represents is huge.

In order to happen it needs a massive show of support from parents and school communities.

We need everyone to sign our petition: whether you're a grandparent, parent, member of the community, teacher, someone who walks to school: the school run is a daily nightmare for so many people: we need you to help us solve it.

We want to show how much support there is for safe walking zones around schools. A big enough petition (we need 1,250 signatures) will lead to a full debate in the Council chamber and allow us to gain this issue the attention it deserves. If voted through we can then start the ball rolling to make Safe School Walking Zones a reality in Brighton and Hove.

Please sign the petition, send it to all your friends, alert your school to it, ask for it to be put in the school newsletter. Our kids deserve the right to walk safely to school. 

Cllr Sarah Nield,
Withdean Ward, Brighton and Hove.