A 'Safer Route to School' project
aims to enable more children to walk, cycle or take public transport to school
by improving travelling conditions on their route to school and in the vicinity
of the school.
This can be achieved by making changes to the highway, by
reducing traffic speeds and volumes, reallocating road space, providing safe
crossing points and at the same time raising awareness of transport and health.
The basis for a successful 'Safer Route to School' project, which is a joint
venture between schools and Durham County Council, is the development of a
School Travel Plan.
Current trends
In 1986 children under 16 made 60% of journeys to school on foot and only 16%
by car.
In 1996 journeys on foot had fallen to below 50% and journeys by car had
doubled to 29%
In this period there had been a decline in public transport use and cycling has
fallen to less than 1%
Almost one in five cars on the highway network at 8.50 are taking children to
school
Reasons
Parents fears of accidents if children are walking and cycling
Parents fears about the personal safety of the child if unaccompanied
Increase in car ownership, with both parents working
Greater parental choice creating longer journeys to school
Consequences
Increase in peak hour congestion
Increase in pollution around the schools
Children have less opportunity to develop road safety and personal skills
Lack of exercise resulting in impact on general health levels
Development of poor travel habits to later life
Reduced independence of the child
School Travel Plans
One method to stop this decline and reverse the
current trend would be to produce a School Travel Plan.
This is a document
which sets out a package of measures to both reduce the number of car trips to
the schools and increase the safety of those already walking, cycling and using
public transport.
The plan would be produced by a Travel Plan Working Group
made up from a partnership of Teachers, Governors, Parents and Children with
support from the county council.
The plan could include;
A description of its school and its catchment.
A description of transport problems in and around school arising from the
journeys to and from school by children, parents and teachers.
Clearly stated aims and objectives which are achievable.
Road safety education for pupils through curricula activities.
A range of practical measures to address the problems with particular emphasis
on increasing road safety and reducing the number of children driven to and
from school by car.
Proposals for monitoring and reviewing the plan.
Gathering information
One of the most important sources of
information will be the children and parents, to be able to determine the
current travel patterns.
This will not only include information on the existing
journey but will also try to identify current problems both real and perceived.
The travel survey will be carried out in the form of a questionnaire produced
by the county council and distributed by the schools.
What then?
When the data has been collected it will be analysed by
the county council and reviewed by the Travel Plan Working Group.
The Working
Group will then recommend measures/initiatives for implementation and consider
policies to be included in the School Travel Plan to encourage walking and
cycling and for improving safety.
The county council will provide funding to
introduce engineering proposals required to implement the agreed initiatives.
Safer Routes to School Projects
Currently there are 80 schools within
County Durham that are benefiting from the Safer Routes to School initiative
and receiving help in producing individual School Travel Plans.
Some of the
completed projects include the following:
Ferryhill Station Primary School has had engineering works to incorporate
priority junctions and a raised speed table on Chilton Lane outside the school
to reduce vehicle speeds and provide a safer School Crossing Patrol point.
Woodham Community Technology College now has cycle storage provision for 50
cycles and a new shared use cycle / pedestrian route into the school to cut
down on school journey times.
The scheme was introduced after consultations
with the school council who identified what the pupils really needed to make
cycling and walking to school an attractive proposition.
A School Safety Zone has been introduced at Durham Blue Coat Junior and Newton
Hall Infant Schools, while a Walking Bus operates at Pittington Primary School.
Easington Colliery Primary has an informal one-way system to ease conflict
between vehicles and pupils.
St.
Joseph's RC Primary has a footpath link to the school gates and park and
walk sites at the local community centre and St.
Joseph's Church.
Thornley Primary has a School Safety Zone and dropped kerb crossing points on
the route to school to improve pedestrian links.
Wolsingham School & Community College have been provided with a new pedestrian
access to link upper and lower schools together and reduce vehicle conflicts
between pupils and vehicles.
Pedestrian guard railing has been provided and a
new speed table has been constructed to the school access to reduce vehicle
speeds.
For a list of the schools previously accepted on to the Safer Routes to School
Initiative programme, please see
T
Safe
r Routes to School Schemes 2000-2004
Another 30 schools have also been successful in applying to join the Safer
Routes to School initiative for 2004/2005 and to be supported by Durham County
Council to develop School Travel Plans.
For a list of these schools, please see
T
Safe
r Routes to School Schemes 2004-2005
.