Würzburg starts Schulstraße: Goodbye parent taxis, welcome security!

Würzburg starts Schulstraße: Goodbye parent taxis, welcome security!

Something is happening in Würzburg for the safety of primary school students! The Green Party's application to implement school streets has received the green light in the city council committee for planning, environment and mobility (Puma). The idea behind it? Traffic-calmed zones in front of elementary schools, where parent taxis and other vehicles are locked out at the start of school. Loud Mainpost This pilot project will be tested over a period of six months.

But why is this even necessary? Every year in Germany, around 20,500 children between the ages of 6 and 14 are injured in traffic accidents. Most people are not injured as pedestrians, but on bicycles or in cars - and this is all caused by increased traffic volumes and traffic jams in front of schools. Only about 32% of children walk to school, while a quarter of parents bring their children by car, often due to lack of time or because school is on the way to work. According to a Forsa survey, 86% of parents find traveling to school by car unsuitable Deutschlandfunk even reports a significant number compared to parent taxis.

Actions and demands for safe routes to school

As part of the safety efforts, action days on the topic of “Walking to school and kindergarten” have been held since September 2023. Tens of thousands of children take part and set an example for the promotion of independent mobility. The demands are clear: more safety by limiting road traffic around schools and kindergartens and setting up parental stops for drivers. Youth welfare portal emphasizes that safety in the school environment should also be strengthened through 30 km/h zones and bans on stopping and parking.

Traffic experts also recommend involving children when planning safe routes to school and developing various creative solutions to promote pedestrian traffic. Running sponsorships and creative design ideas for routes to school have already been implemented to further promote children's exercise.

School streets in other cities

The idea of ​​Schulstrasse is not new and is already used in many cities such as Cologne, Bonn and Frankfurt. In Cologne, the project is being tested at four schools until the Easter holidays, and a pilot project that has already been carried out in Frankfurt-Eckenheim has already seen a decline in parent taxis. This shows that the implementation of such projects can improve both the safety of students and traffic conditions in front of schools.

With the new school streets in Würzburg, nothing stands in the way of a safe and healthy school experience. The cooperation between the city, schools, parents and initiatives gives reason to hope that the routes to school will soon become safer and more child-friendly!