Families across the UK are being asked to comment on their walk to school throughout October’s International Walk to School Month to help build up a picture of our streets. Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, hopes to use the month to identify the barriers which prevent families from walking to school, with the help of their ‘Rate Your Walk’ online tool. Continue reading October is International Walk to School Month
Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, is urging the public to ‘Try20’ and walk for 20 minutes a day throughout National Walking Month which kicks off tomorrow (Monday 1 May). Continue reading Living Streets: walk twenty minutes at day during National Walking Month
Six city schools kick off safer school streets pilot
Cramond Primary is among six city schools taking part in the School Streets initiative in Edinburgh, which aims to create safer travel to the city’s primary schools by banning cars from surrounding streets during certain times.
Colinton Primary School pupils celebrated the launch of the safety scheme this morning, when Super Cyclists and Wonder Walkers assembled at the front gates via newly car-free streets.
Traffic will now be prohibited on the roads surrounding the first phase of schools involved in the scheme at the beginning and end of the school day.
Aiming to create a safer, more pleasant environment the scheme promotes travel to school by walking and cycling, in turn reducing congestion and pollution in the area. The first couple of weeks will be education/raising awareness before enforcement starts.
City of Edinburgh Council Transport Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “I am delighted to see School Streets in action and that so many pupils have taken this opportunity to walk, use scooters and ride their bikes safely into school.
“Promoting active and sustainable travel is one of our main priorities, and by creating a safe and relaxed atmosphere near our schools, we are encouraging this from a very early age.”
Final plans for the School Streets pilot, which is a commitment of theLocal Transport Strategy 2014-19, were approved by Transport and Environment Committee in August.
More than 30 schools across the city originally expressed an interest in participating in the pilot and eleven were eventually selected. All of the chosen locations had been experiencing road safety issues due to the number of drivers bringing cars too close to school gates.
Chris Thompson Schools and Projects Coordinator at Living Streets says: “It is vital that more children walk to school however traffic levels and safety are key concerns for parents. By closing the immediate streets outside school gates, the City of Edinburgh Council and participating schools are sending a resounding message that walking to school, even for the last few minutes, is good for health and the city’s environment. I expect other councils across the UK to follow this bold and imaginative approach to healthy school travel.”
Chief Inspector Stevie Dolan, from Police Scotland, said: “We are committed to working alongside our partners and the public to ensure the safety of all road users, including schoolchildren.
“Whenever a complaint is received in relation to motorists driving within the prohibited areas, without a valid reason for doing so, our officers will respond accordingly.”
Six primary schools are included in the first of two phases – Abbeyhill, Colinton, Cramond, Duddingston and St John’s RC with Sciennes starting in October.
The second phase of the pilot is due to begin in March and will be implemented at Towerbank, St Peter’s, Clermiston and Bonaly Primary Schools.
Residents in streets next to participating schools need a permit to drive in or out of the street while restrictions are in place, which can be applied for on the Council website.
Initiatives to make Edinburgh a better city for ‘active travel’ will be considered by councillors this week, with cycling set to recieve a considerable chunk of the council’s transport budget. Inspired by Olympic success, there’s been a sharp rise in bike ownership over the last month so the measures are likely to prove popular with the Edinburgh public.
An extra dedicated cycling officer will also be appointed to take forward the design and construction of schemes that are already in the pipeline.
A further £460,000 will be spent on routine maintenance of cycle routes and on marketing and promotion. This year the Council has also attracted £425,000 of matching funding for cycle projects from the Scottish Government via Sustrans.
Councillor Jim Orr, vice-convener of the Transport committee, said: “This programme is evidence of the capital coalition’s commitment to making it easier, safer and more attractive for people to cycle and walk in Edinburgh. It represents a record investment by the Council with 5% of our total transport budget going on cycling, and we believe this is more than any other Scottish authority in both total and per head spend. Encouraging active travel makes sense for environmental, health and traffic reasons, but Edinburgh is also a fantastic city to explore on foot or two wheels. Our investment will make the most of that.”
There will be further spending on promoting walking, with a new post focussed on improving design for pedestrians and upgrading popular routes.
The measures form part of the Council’s Active Travel action plan, which was drawn up in 2010 with NHS Lothian, walking charity Living Streets, Sustrans and the city’s leading cycling group Spokes, among others. The Council’s progress will be measured under Scottish and European schemes to promote cycling, as well as annual reports to the Transport committee.
Edinburgh’s own Sir Chris Hoy’s herculean Olympic exploits have doubtless encouraged many more citizens to get on their bikes. Yesterday council leader Andrew Burns was joined by Inverleith councillor Nigel Bagshaw and Forth’s Cammy Day among others on the freshnlo Pedal for Scotland Glasgow to Edinburgh charity cycle – his tenth in a row! It seems the capital’s gone cycle crazy!
8500 cyclists registered for yesterday’s Pedal for Scotland event which was started by cycling star Mark beaumont and Scottish Transport minister Keith Brown
