Calls for a School Street Scheme are building in Northern Ireland.
It comes after the latest Department for Infrastructure figures found 65% of children are driven to primary school despite well documented evidence on its impacts on the environment.
While half of them live within a mile from the school gates, the statistical bulletin also shows that car journeys to school have risen from 59% in 2013/14 while the number of kids walking to school has dropped from 31% to 26%.
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Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK and Ireland without a School Streets Scheme, which aims to
And now Sustrans, which has seen major successes in encouraging families to ditch their cars at schools that took part in their annual Big Walk and Wheel, is calling on the Department for Infrastructure to implement Safe Routes to Schools and School Streets immediately so children can safely walk or cycle the short distance on a regular basis.
Beth Harding, Sustrans Active School Travel programme manager, said: “Northern Ireland is the only region throughout the UK and Ireland without a School Streets scheme.
“School Streets tackle congestion, poor air quality and road safety concerns that many schools experience by restricting motor traffic at the school gates for a short period of time, generally at drop-off and pick-up times.
“Making more short journeys by active travel can also help physical and mental health in all age groups, as well as cut fuel costs.
“School Streets schemes could transform how Northern Ireland schoolchildren travel each morning and afternoon, benefitting not just them but the whole community.
“Other popular initiatives, like the ‘walking buses’ run by Portadown Integrated Primary School along the Craigavon Community Greenway, where parents drop off their children at a spot away from the school and they walk the remainder of the journey with classmates and staff, could also be rolled out to provide Safe Routes to Schools.
“It is vital for our children and our environment that School Streets and safe infrastructure are introduced at the earliest opportunity to cut car dependency.”
The charity says the success of their Active School Travel programme, which is funded by DfI and the Public Health Agency, proves pupils, parents and schools crave an alternative to the car.
Its latest AST report, covering the same time period as the DfI statistical study, showed that the number of children travelling actively to participating schools increased from 30% to 41%, while at the same time, the number of pupils being driven to school fell from 62% to 51%.
The survey also shows around four out of every five kids would like to get to school by walking, wheeling, scooting or cycling.
Sustrans say better infrastructure and initiatives are central to the push towards more active travel to primary school.
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