Safer Routes to School

What is Safer Routes to School?

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 Safer 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 Safer Routes to School Schemes 2004-2005.


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