Wiltshire Council helping schoolchildren walk and cycle safely
Schools are being given support towards travel schemes
Wiltshire schools are being offered funding to help children get there safely.
The Council's giving out grants for cycle and scooter storage, as well as looking at the possibility of new crossings or wider pavements.
The idea is to get more parents to leave their cars at home and for children to walk, cycle or scooter to school instead.
Recent projects that have had financial support include:
• Box Primary School – upgrade to signalised zebra crossing outside the school and refurbishment of the zebra crossing by the post office.
• Chapmanslade Primary School – installation of bollards and existing informal crossing point, and installation of signs and flashing lights to advertise a part time advisory 20mph limit. This project is still in progress.
• Bitham Brook Primary School, Westbury – installation of part-time advisory 20mph limit and extension of waiting restrictions. This project is still in progress.
• Holy Trinity Primary Academy, Calne – improvements to zebra crossing, provision of bus-stop clearways and waiting restrictions.
Other projects that are currently being explored are:
• Queen’s Crescent Primary, Chippenham – measures that make it easier to cross the road and access the school site.
• Holy Trinity Primary Academy, Great Cheverell – request for measures to reduce vehicular congestion outside the school and improve safety for people crossing the road.
• Wyndham Park Infants School and St Mark’s Junior School, Salisbury – request for measures to improve safety at school entrances.
• The Stonehenge School, Amesbury – request for measures to improve safety for pedestrians crossing Holders Road.
Wiltshire Council's also carrying on their Bikeability, Walksafe and Scootability programmes, which have trained over 13,000 children in the past year.
Cllr Tamara Reay, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We are committed to improving road safety as part of our Business Plan, and our Taking Action on School Journeys programme goes hand in hand with our excellent Bikeability, Walk Safe and Scootability courses to help more children travel safely and benefit from a suitable environment to choose active modes of travel.
“We are working closely with schools throughout the county. We know when more parents, carers and school children choose to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle or scooter instead, it improves health and wellbeing, helping people to get some exercise, as well as improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions – and it can save money, too.
“But there is more to do, and that’s why we’re continuing to work with schools throughout Wiltshire to make it easier for pupils to walk, cycle or scooter to and from school, along with training a further 13,000 children this year to make their journeys safer.”