28/1/2020
 
Today, Tuesday 28 January 2019, Cardiff Council officially launched the School Active Travel Plan programme.

The launch took place at Howardian Primary School in Penylan during a Health and Wellbeing event supported by Sustrans Cymru and Welsh Cycling.

The School Active Travel Plan provides advice and support to all schools in Cardiff so that they can develop an Active Travel Plan specific to their school and is part of the Council's commitment to ensure every school in Cardiff has developed an Active Travel Plan by 2022. 

The scheme will provide officer support and online guidance and resources to help change travel behaviour by assisting schools to identify why parents are using their cars. It will help them to promote walking, cycling and scooting as a way of travelling to and from school with benefits including;

• Increased level of physical activity for pupils and parents
• Improved safety on journeys to school with reduced traffic congestion
• Improved air quality

Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: "The Council has recently launched our 10-year transport vision for the city, which sets out ambitious plans to transform active travel and public transport in Cardiff. This vision sets out clear aims to reduce congestion, improve air quality and combat the ongoing problems of climate change. The daily morning and afternoon school run places heavy pressures on our road network adding to peak-time congestion. The numbers of children walking to has decreased over the last 15 years whilst the proportion travelling by car has increased. The Active Travel to Schools programme has a key role to play in reversing this trend."

"We know that alternative viable options have to be available to parents and this is exactly why we are working with all schools in Cardiff so that each school can develop a plan which is specific to their location and setting. This is not a case of ‘one-size fits all'.  We want to take a ‘bespoke' approach. This means firstly helping each school we work with to identify their key issues and the barriers to children travelling actively. We'll then help the school to commit to taking some simple actions to help children walk and cycle to school.  This isn't about writing a document. An Active Travel Plan is a set of live actions. Through our Active Travel Plans team we'll provide support with developing the Active Travel Plan and providing activities such as cycle and pedestrian training through our Road Safety Education team. With funding from Welsh Government we have also begun to install covered cycle and scooter parking in schools and, with continued funding we want to expand this provision to other schools who need new or improved cycle and scooter parking."

Cardiff Council has been working with Howardian Primary School on developing their Active Travel Plan and the school now implements several projects which include increased scooter and parking, scooter and bike training and a ‘Park and Stride' where parents park away from the school gates.

Headteacher at Howardian Primary School, Helen Hoyle said: "Active transport has been shown to have positive effects all round. The children's physical and mental wellbeing has improved and they have become more confident and aware of road safety issues.

"By developing our own Active Travel Plan we hope that traffic congestion around the school will decrease and the roads will become safer and less polluted for everyone."

Sustrans Cymru have also supported the school in developing schemes which promote walking and cycling to pupils through their Active Journeys programme. Staff will also receive cycle training in the Spring.

The School Active Travel Plan links closely with Cardiff's Child Friendly City strategy which focuses on ‘child friendly streets' to encourage and enable children and young people to be active and connected to the place where they live, to feel safe and to move around in a way that suits them.

Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry Said: "The health and well-being of our children is priority and by reducing the number of cars driving to school, not only promotes physical activity amongst pupils and parents but also helps make schools safer.

"Cardiff's commitment to becoming a Unicef Child Friendly City is shaped by children and young people who are working with us to deliver three priority areas of education; family and belonging; and health. 

"Schemes have included car free days where families are able to cycle safely around the city centre and the Street Play scheme which allows communities to apply to close their roads enabling children to play safely, outside in their own street.

"School Active Travel Plans is the latest programme which looks to make significant behavioural changes for the future, helping Cardiff to become a greener city with children's rights at its heart."

Sustrans Cymru have also supported the school in developing schemes which promote walking and cycling to pupils through their Active Journeys programme. Staff will also receive cycle training in the Spring.

Steve Brooks from Sustrans said: "Congestion outside school gates is damaging and dangerous for children. Poor air quality and road safety concerns are a daily problem during drop off and pick up times. It's clear we must take action to make streets around schools safer.

"Walking, cycling or scooting to school should be the safest, easiest and most accessible option for all school children.

"Cardiff Council'sActive Travel to Schools programmewill help children, parents and staff to think of alternative ways to do the school run without having to depend on the car.The tailored approach of the programme will play a key role in changing the way people travel around the city, help clean up the air and reduce our impact on the climate emergency."

The event also marked the launch of new online resources for schools which including step-by-step guidance and case studies. More information can be found athttps://keepingcardiffmoving.co.uk/home/