SALFORD PUPILS ENJOYING A SAFER ROUTE TO SCHOOL

Pupils from Barton Moss Primary School and Salford City Academy were joined by special guests (Monday 5 December) at the launch of a new 'Park and Stride' scheme. It's part of a series of improvements to make the walk to school safer and more enjoyable.

The changes have come about after Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking worked with pupils from Barton Moss Primary School to assess the local streets to see what improvements could be made to make it easier for them to walk to school.

Pupils noted that some road signage needed replacing and zigzag lines needed repainting. A much safer route, starting at Roosters Rugby Club and going via an underpass to the estate where both schools are situated, was also discovered.

Living Streets worked with the schools, Salford City Council, ForHousing and Salford City Roosters Rugby Club to act upon the pupils' recommendations. As well as the new road markings and signage,a new 'Park and Stride' scheme has been launched, which allows families from both schools to park at the Salford City Roosters Rugby Club and walk the rest of the way along a marked route - reducing the traffic, air pollution and road danger around the school gates.

Pupils from Barton Moss Primary School and Salford City Academy were joined by guests including, Tracy Kelly, Deputy City Mayor, and Living Streets' mascot, Strider at the launch of the Park and Stride.

Chris Irwin, Salford City Roosters Rugby Club said:

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"We are delighted to be able to open our facilities up for such a fantastic initiative.  The Park and Stride scheme fits perfectly with our plans on our clubhouse being utilised as a Community Wellbeing Hub, a facility that can support local residents and services.  As well as opening our car park up for parents, we will ensure our clubroom is available for parents and children to grab a warm drink and maybe a bite to eat to start the day!"

Dean Khaled, Kickstart Managing Director and WOW Lead at Barton Moss Community Primary School said:

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"It's great to be able to launch the Park and Stride facility at the Roosters Rugby Club. This provides a much safer walking route to both schools and means children don't have to try and cross the dangerous Junction 11 roundabout of the M60. It will also help to reduce traffic congestion around the estate and encourage children to get some morning exercise. A great initiative made possible from the excellent support of all partners."

Martyn Hague, Executive Director of Customer at ForHousing said:

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"At ForHousing we're passionate about improving people's health and wellbeing and doing all we can to protect the planet. Walking to school is an easy way to fit exercise into our daily routines while helping reduce the number of cars on the road causing pollution. So it's really great to see how the community has come together to make the walk to school for local children safer."

Barton Moss Primary School takes part in WOW - the walk to school challenge from Living Streets. WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker. Pupils who walk, wheel, cycle, scoot or Park and Stride at least once a week for a month are rewarded with a badge.

A generation ago, 70 per cent of primary school aged children walked to school, now it's less than half[1]. However, in WOW schools, walking rates typically increase by 23 per cent with a 30 per cent reduction in cars driving to the school gates.

Nationally, 43 per cent of 5–10-year-olds are driven to school. However, just 17 per cent of journeys recorded this academic year on the WOW Travel Tracker by pupils at Barton Moss Primary School are car trips all the way to the school gates. Living Streets hopes that these new changes will help even more families walk to school.

Dan O'Connell, Project Coordinator (Manchester), Living Streets said:

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"Walking to school helps children and their families stay healthy and happy, while reducing congestion and cleaning up the air for the whole community.

"Families at Barton Moss Primary School and Salford City Academy can now safely walk to school in a refreshed environment. We hope to see reduced congestion on the local estate and lots more families feeling happier to walk to school, rather than drive."

 

[1] 47% of children in England currently walk to school. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2020