Streets Alive: Neighbours unite to bring kids’ play back to our local streets

“Back in my day, we played outside until the streetlights came on!”

It’s easy to wax nostalgic about how neighbourhood streets used to be an unofficial playground for kids, romping around playing games and walking or riding their bikes to school.

But it’s fair to say that these days many of us don’t even really get to know our neighbours, and many kids stay inside, spending more time on screens rather than playing in the streets.

A Planet Ark study found that while 73% of adults used to play on streets, only 24% of their kids do the same.

Parents increasing concern about safety means unsupervised outdoor play has reduced. Children are less likely to know their neighbours and local community, which is contributing to issues such as obesity, anxiety, and loneliness.

Not to mention missing out on the chance to develop important life skills through activities like cycling to school or taking transit by themselves.

The good news is, parents are starting to take action. They’re arranging play street hours, sharing verge toys, installing decorative planter boxes, and creating footpath art to produce a traffic calming effect and improve safety.

The State Government, in partnership with WA Local Government Association and Town Team Movement, is getting behind the trend too thanks to the introduction of Streets Alive, investing $5 million over five years to help neighbourhoods become more people and play-friendly.

Along with these ideas, this program also invites projects to narrow street lanes, plant trees and paint road murals, helping to slow traffic so it’s safer for kids to play on the street. It also creates local streets as places for people, not just cars.

If you’re interested in bringing your streets to life, head to streetsalive.org.au, or visit townteammovement.com to learn more about forming like-minded community groups to deliver actions like these.