Walking Bus for Kilkenny

Government plans to change how our children get to school

Green Party Cllr Malcolm Noonan has welcomed plans by the Government to change how our children travel to school. The Department of Transport has pledged €2 million to An Taisce’s Green Schools Travel programme which will promote walking, cycling and carpooling.

Cllr Noonan said: “Dropping kids to school by car is the most inefficient way of getting them there, but often parents feel it’s the only safe option open to them. Not only does it cause traffic chaos, but it releases tonnes of carbon and other pollutants into our atmosphere every year. Going by bus, walking or cycling has many benefits for our children, one of the most important being their health. Perhaps our local national schools could look at the option of a walking bus scheme, where parents collect children in groups and walk them safely to and from school?

“I would hope that over the summer holidays, schools, teachers and parents will consider alternatives to private cars as a means of getting children to school in the autumn. Lessons learned in childhood stay with you for life and as the price of oil soars and parents are watching the miles tick by on the clock, it may well be that walking or cycling to school is not a thing of the past but the only way to go.”

The Green School Travel initiative has been in place since 2005 targeting the Greater Dublin Area. This new funding will allow the programme to be rolled out in all provinces covering over a quarter of a million school children.

The funding will be used to:
1.        Promote walk to school initiatives such as WOW days (Walk on Wednesday), walking buses, park ‘n stride and Golden Boot awards.
2.        Promote cycle to school initiatives through the provision of cycle training in schools, cycle parking facilities, breakfast mornings for teachers and pupils and Golden Bike awards.
3.        Promote carpooling through consultation with the wider population served by schools.
4.        Raise awareness of travel alternatives through the development of children/parent/teacher transport workshops, presentations, annual competitions and travel information boards at school gates.

The Department of Transport has also announced the establishment of a consultative committee to assist the Government in developing a more holistic approach to tackling the challenges faced by parents and schoolchildren in choosing alternative school travel options. This committee is representative of bodies such as Local Authorities, the Road Safety Authority, relevant Government Departments, Dublin Transport Office and An Taisce. The committee will be tasked with setting out how issues such as the following can be addressed:

• Appropriate traffic calming measures around schools
• Footpaths to service rural schools
• Measures to deter dangerous parking near school gates
• Better cycling infrastructure in schools

I would hope that the appointment of a permanent road safety officer by Kilkenny County Council will make it easier for schools to work through their green schools programmes and reduce congestion at peak times and create a healthier environment for children and parents.