Budapest launches car-free ‘school streets’ initiative citywide
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The Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) is giving fresh momentum to initiatives aimed at safer travel for children, announcing plans to designate traffic-calmed, car-free school streets across the city. The goal is to ensure students can reach school safely and in a cleaner-air environment.
The new announcement comes shortly after the local government of Józsefváros approved its own school street project. The first step will be temporarily closing Trefort Street to car traffic during certain hours to facilitate safe access to the ELTE Trefort Ágoston Practice High School, according to Építész Fórum.
What is a school street?
School streets are an increasingly popular urban traffic management solution that restricts access to roads surrounding educational institutions during key times of the day—typically mornings and afternoons—to pedestrians and users of micromobility devices. The initiative aims to reduce the risk of accidents, improve air quality, and create more livable public spaces.
Inspired by international models
The concept of school streets dates back to the 1990s in Northern Italy and has since been adopted in major European cities, including London, Paris, Barcelona, and Vienna, all of which now feature hundreds of such zones. These positive international experiences have encouraged BKK to further expand Budapest’s school street network.
