Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2005
414 Ms C. Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the number of safe route to school initiatives which were undertaken in 2003, 2004 and 2005; the locations in which they were undertaken; the funding which has been provided in those years and in those locations; and if it is intended to expand the scheme in 2006. [20787/05]
View answerThe DTO initiated a pilot programme for six safer routes to school projects during the course of the period 2002 to 2003. These were in Griffith Avenue involving four separate schools: Donabate, two schools; Malahide, one school; Bray, one school; Lucan, one school; and Shankill, one school. Subsequently, the schools in Lucan and Shankill decided not to continue participating in the initiative.
This pilot programme was designed to show what needs to be done to achieve a better balance in the modes used to travel to school. The pilot programme consisted of: implementing a set of infrastructure improvements in the road environment surrounding each school; and organisational and consultation activities intended to show school management and parent committees how to manage the mobility needs of the children attending the school.
The total cost of the programme was €1.66 million, predominantly for the infrastructure changes, for example, pedestrian crossing, cycle paths, cycle parking facilities within school grounds, bus lay-bys, etc. No moneys have been expended on projects during 2005. The DTO contributed considerable in-house resources to managing the initiative through extensive liaison with stakeholders and through the preparation of documentation, surveys etc.
The following table shows the breakdown of moneys allocated to each school project, and also the outcome in terms of changes to behaviour and mode choices made by pupils and their parents. The table shows that the results of the pilot programme are encouraging. The main finding of the pilot project was that a school requires a well-developed and interested parent-school team to bring the initiative to fruition. Simply providing infrastructure without the managerial effort of parents, pupils and school managers is likely to fail.
The DTO is examining the potential of widening the scope of the initiative by arranging for the inclusion of a school travel theme within the existing green schools programme. The green schools programme is run by An Taisce and is already present in over half the schools across the country, with the rate of subscription growing. The programme has the potential to assist working groups involving parents, pupils and staff to develop a school travel plan to increase the numbers of pupils walking, cycling or taking the bus to school and to reduce the number of cars coming to the school.
I have asked the DTO to advise me as to how this initiative might be advanced, with a view to getting implementation in a wider range of schools throughout the country.
|
Project |
Number of Schools |
Cost |
Outcome |
|
€ |
|||
|
Griffith Avenue |
4 |
609,000 |
Walking Bus established. Numbers not quantified yet. |
|
Donabate |
2 |
612,411 |
11% increase in walking, 1% increase in Cycling, 9% increase in Bus use, 22% decrease in car use. |
|
Malahide |
1 |
219,000 |
2% increase in cycling, 1% increase in walking, 1% increase in car use, 3% decrease in bus use. |
|
Bray |
1 |
168,000 |
6% increase in cycling, 6% decrease in car use. |
