School Street Closures and Traffic Displacement Project

The report, led by Dr Adrian Davis, professor of transport and health at Edinburgh Napier University, sets out the findings of a review of existing literature on the impact of school street closures.

Alongside increasing active travel, the findings suggest that in almost all cases, the total number of motor vehicles across school street closures and neighbouring streets reduced.

There is also consistent evidence that motor traffic displacement does not cause road safety issues of any significance in neighbouring streets – and that mitigating measures, where needed, have been applied successfully by local authorities.

It suggests that school street closures are supported by the majority of parents and residents living on the closed and neighbouring streets and that their support increases after any trial period.

A total of 16 studies – including three from Scottish authorities in Edinburgh, Perth and Kinross and East Lothian – were used to evidence the report.

The findings of these 16 studies were supplemented by semi-structured telephone interviews with relevant officers responsible for local authority school street closure schemes.