TRANSPORT
1
Talk to your
neighbours
and see if enough of
you are keen to organise it
Do a house-to-house survey
with neighbours and get them to
complete a survey. Contact the council
and ask it to help you. The council can run
a confidential online survey and collate
the results for you. You can also collect
signatures on paper. You will need to
show support for the scheme comes from
the majority of residents in your street
If the response is in favour of a
PlayStreet, you will need to advise
residents of the outcome of the survey
and then the council will apply for a
temporary traffic order on your behalf
to enable the road closures. It takes
six-eight weeks to organise, but then
lasts for years
Let everyone know when your first
PlayStreet will be. A ‘Playing Out’
kit is provided for you by the council,
which contains everything you need to
get started.
2
WHAT IS A PLAYSTREET LIKE?
Neighbours of Goldsmith Avenue in
Acton worked with the council to pilot
the first ever PlayStreet in the borough
in September 2013. They have held
sessions once a month on a Saturday
ever since.
Resident Sara Nathan said she first
came up with the idea after their street
got together for the first time when
throwing a big lunch to celebrate the
Diamond Jubilee. She said:
“All of a sudden there
were all these children
that nobody had
ever seen before.
It made you
realise they
weren’t playing
together
outside and we
were missing
the liveliness of
street life that you
get when children
are out playing.”
Another resident, Sonya
Matthews, said her two children,
aged five and three, really look forward
to playing out. However, the events
are not exclusively for the little ones in
their street. “Neighbouring streets are
also invited,” said Sonya. “It’s lovely to
be able to step outside and have a cup
of tea and a biscuit with other parents
and people whose kids have long since
left home. One neighbour who grew
up on the street and has lived there
for about 30 years said the sound of
the first PlayStreet took her back to
her childhood in Goldsmith Avenue. It
was really nice for us to know that was
something we were recreating.”
MORE INFO
■
Contact Renée McCaw
at the council, email
mccawr X[[