Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Brussels residents are in favour of car-free and greener streets for primary schools and children's daycares in the Capital Region, according to a survey conducted by Les Chercheurs d’Air.
While measures that limit car traffic across Brussels – under the banner of the controversial 'Good Move' mobility plan – have caused a great deal of commotion in the region in recent years, there appears to be broad support for these kinds of changes.
"School streets help protect children from air pollution, noise pollution, and accident risks," said Renaud Leemans, Campaign Coordinator for the non-profit organisation Les Chercheurs d’Air, which fights against air pollution.
"Pedestrianised and green school streets multiply these benefits and add new ones: more play spaces, fewer heat islands, and more biodiversity are just a few," he said. "The benefits are proven and public support is real, all that is missing is political will."
Car owners vs pedestrians
The survey shows, among other things, that 72% of respondents are in favour of car-free zones in front of schools and daycares. While support is somewhat lower (63%) among car owners, it still represents a comfortable majority. Among Brussels residents without a car, support rises to 79%.
Support for greener school streets is even broader: 84% of Brussels residents surveyed indicated that they were in favour. Here, too, support among car owners (77%) is slightly lower than among respondents without a car (89%). Still, it remains very high overall.
"A majority was found among both women and men, across all age groups, among people without children as well as among parents, and among people who do not own a car as well as those who own at least one," said Leemans.
Credit: Les Chercheurs d'Air
When questioned on whether or not they are concerned about the impact of air pollution on their health, 73% of respondents answered that they are "rather" or "very" concerned about it. The issue appears to be somewhat more important to women (77%) than to men (69%).
Here too, there is a difference between car owners (68%) and people without a car (77%).
"We therefore ask the elected officials of the 19 municipalities and the Brussels-Capital Region to accelerate the creation of pedestrianised school streets and to plant them," Leemans added. "More generally, we urge them to accelerate the fight against air pollution in the city to better protect our health, particularly that of our children."
The survey was conducted by research agency YouGov among a representative sample of 1001 Brussels residents in light of the Streets for Kids campaign that is taking place this Friday at different schools in the Capital Region. 22 schools – both Dutch- and French-speaking – are taking part.
