Trial of decals to encourage walking to school

Rather than bursting out of a car and running through the school gates, Silverstream School pupils will be encouraged to take a leisurely walk to school next year.

The Dunedin City Council is launching a trial of footpath decals which will allow pupils to walk their route to school, and see when they are within five or 10 minutes’ walk of the school gates.

Principal Greg Hurley said many of his pupils lived within five or 10 minutes’ walk from the school, and the decals would show pupils and their parents how close they were, and how easy it was to walk to and from school

Silverstream School principal Greg Hurley with one of the trial decals which will be printed on...
Silverstream School principal Greg Hurley with one of the trial decals which will be printed on footpaths, five minutes from the school. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH

He said many pupils also lived much further away, and the initiative would encourage parents to drop their children off at the 10 or five-minute decals, instead of the school gates.

"We have a very active school and it makes sense to encourage this.

"It’s a brilliant initiative. The more cars and traffic that we can get away from our school gates, the safer our kids will be.

"And obviously, trying to get more exercise in this generation is a positive for the community."

He hoped the initiative could be expanded in the future by adding five and 10-minute zones for scootering and cycling.

The school’s student council would run a competition and reward walkers with stickers and badges, he said.

Surveys of usage would also be conducted by the DCC and the student council, and if it was found to be successful, the activity might be used by other Dunedin schools.

The distances of the decals from the school were measured as part of Public Health South’s Walking Time Zone Mapping programme.

Staff worked with pupils to determine five, 10 and 15-minute distances from the school.

DCC transport acting group manager Nick Sargent said the decals would be installed on the footpaths around Silverstream School before classes started again on February 3.

 

Comments

What a great idea! There was a time when we all walked and cycled to school, Then we became lazy, parents became over protective and we allowed too many cars to take over our streets. Such a simple initiative and has so many benefits to school and community. Well done to those who have worked on this.

About time something was done to stop the stupid traffic congestion around school gates !
It was the fear of the bogeyman that pushed parents into driving their children to school in the first place.
Fear;- the great motivator of the masses, pushed by the political class to advance their agenda.
Shame;- the stick used to make the masses conform, by the political class who set the standard by stating their moral superiority in caring for 'the weak'.
I don't remember ever being driven to school. It was either the bus or push bike or motorbike that got me to my school, that was over 5km from home.

 

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