Schools are set to be invited to participate in a pilot scheme aimed at improving feelings of safety, reducing traffic volumes, and promoting active travel around pick up and drop off times.
Plans for the School Streets scheme, approved at today’s meeting of the Net Zero, Environment and Transport committee, form part of a number of measures already planned or underway to promote and encourage more, and safe, active travel to schools.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “The Council is committed to ensuring children have a safe and comfortable journey to and from school. There are already a number of successful measures in place - but those need to be built upon.
“Safe journeys for active travel provide physical and health benefits, and also give young people a great start to their day as they open their minds to all they have to learn.”
Vice-convenor of the Net Zero, Environment and Transport committee, Councillor Miranda Radley, added: “Working with Schools and leaning on their depth of local knowledge gives us the best chance to make improvements for travel to and from school.
“I encourage all schools to make an application to take part in the scheme when the time comes.”
School Streets schemes are already in common use around the Scotland, the UK, and Europe. Schemes restrict access for vehicles around pick up and drop off times which reduces car traffic, improves air quality, and increases physical activity, with more pupils walking, wheeling and cycling to school.
Further work already underway includes:
- 20mph speed limits in place around schools.
- I Bike scheme, in partnership with the active travel charity Sustrans, which provides a programme of cycle training and classroom learning to promote active travel to primary and secondary school pupils.
- A Regional Active Travel Network (RATN) review, commissioned by the regional transport partnership Nestrans, has recently been completed with final approval expected in February. The RATN presents a plan for a walking, wheeling, and cycling network across the North East.