ROAD SAFETY
FREE CYCLE TRAINING
Improve your cycling confidence – for free training for adults and children ( and a Dr Bike maintenance service every week ) call 0800 093 6454 or visit www . cycletraining . co . uk
‘ Appy days at schools
Street make a major difference .
“ Making streets safer was the reason I got into politics . If we have safe streets we all win . Reduced traffic creates a better , far more pleasant and cleaner environment for us all to enjoy . And it then encourages even more of us to make greener , healthier journeys . I ’ d ask everyone to imagine a better alternative to the pollution , noise and congestion created by so many of us . By each of us making the choice to be part of the solution , we can help make our streets even safer and more enjoyable for ourselves and our children .
“ We are doing a lot of work with local schools to encourage families to leave their cars behind on the short journey to school and instead walk or cycle . This makes us all healthier .”
Visit www . ealing . gov . uk / transport for more information on transport in the borough .
The council is working with schools across the borough to promote safe and healthy travel . All high schools in the borough are encouraged to nominate youth travel ambassadors . They head up studentled projects to encourage smarter travel to school .
Last year , 12 students from Brentside High School won a £ 250 grant from Transport for London to develop a walking ‘ app ’ for mobile phones and other devices that is aimed at encouraging more students to swap buses and cars for foot-power . And it is starting to work , with the number of people walking already increasing by 4 %. The students have even set up their own walking group .
Primary schools are also encouraging families to ditch the school run . This year , a walking campaign saw new starters at 41 primary schools given a map showing local walking routes . Parents were also given the chance to plan their own walking route at a school induction event . In the first year of the campaign , car journeys to and from schools fell by 10 % and the maps will be given to all schools by autumn this year .
Students at primary schools across the borough have also benefited from cycle training . Some have received more intensive support in the form of bike maintenance and balance bike training for early years and reception staff .
Children aged seven to eight years old are being taught how to cross roads safely as part of a pedestrian skills course and those in sixth forms can find themselves on the receiving end of a hard-hitting road safety event called ‘ Safe Drive , Stay Alive ’ where they are shown first-hand the heart breaking consequences of taking risks in cars and motorbikes .
Parents are also being targeted by being asked to sign up to the Safer Parking Promise where parents pledge to park responsibly outside of schools . Meanwhile , the council is backing Road Safety Week by using a mixture of education and enforcement to make sure that parents do the right thing if they drive to school .
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