‘We need public spaces that are healthy and inviting’

This quote from Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, keeps going round my head:

“One common measure of how clean a mountain stream is to look for trout. If you find the trout, the habitat is healthy. It’s the same way with children in a city. Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people…”

When I was a kid, it was normal to ride your bike or walk to primary school. But now, when I drop off my son at school, I can see quite a few parents driving their kids to school, even when they live within a few hundred metres.

Of course, some kids or their carers have mobility issues, but when I chat with others, they say that “it’s too far for kids to walk” but children actually need at least an hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day.

Children today are more likely to be obese and suffer from Type 2 diabetes than kids 30 years ago. Walking or cycling to school are just some ways kids could increase their levels of activity, which according to the Department of Health, will improve their concentration and learning, as well as their physical health.

Air pollution is killing three million people every year, and another 1.3 million are killed in road accidents worldwide.

People living in more deprived areas are more likely to be affected, locally and globally. In Bristol, we can address some of these inequalities by making walking and cycling easier for everyone, not just in the posh parts of the city.

Some parents say that the route to school has too many cars speeding and it isn’t safe to walk or cycle. We need public spaces that are healthy and inviting, and journeys to school which don’t include mattresses blocking the pavement or people speeding.

As the Mayor must make massive cuts to Council services, we need to consider what is important. If we cannot afford to pay Lollipop ladies, we have to afford to make school zones where during school run hours cars must drive no faster than 5 mph. We should make changes to our roads, slowing down traffic and shutting down rat runs.

In New York City, massive changes were made to the roads to improve pedestrian and cycle infrastructure. Within 10 years they’ve seen the number of cyclists quadruple and the number of injuries decrease by 75 per cent.

Instead of building more lanes for cars with the funding central government has dedicated to roads, we should dedicate some of it to use paint and plants to change our roads and streets into spaces which people will enjoy walking, cycling or scooting through. Let’s make Bristol a successful city.

Zoe Banks Gross is the director of Easton Energy Group – a community group set up to help individuals reduce their energy use. She also founded East Bristol Kidical Mass, part of a national movement encouraging families to ride bicycles for transportation, exercise and fun. 

Read more: This man plans to clean up Bristol’s streets