School leaders and public representatives are going to great ends to facilitate the safe and secure reopening of schools in August. However, there is little to no discussion around facilitating safe, healthy and stress free drop offs/pickups for children.
Last August the RSA highlighted traffic congestion outside school gates as proving “incredibly dangerous” in relation to the safety of children, this is now further exacerbated by the current requirement on schools to ensure socially distant measures are in place in all areas being used by pupils.
We are calling on local authorities and the National Transport Authority to assist schools by supporting a ‘school streets’ initiative. Where possible, this initiative temporarily closes the street a school is located on to vehicular traffic, to allow children to walk, scoot and cycle to school safely.
School streets have the benefit of giving schools much needed extra space to facilitate social distancing measures ,whilst also benefiting the physical, emotional and mental well being of Ireland’s pupils who already have a daunting return to school in late August.
SIGNED:
A Playful City
Association of Health Promotion Ireland
Better Ennis
Bray Tidy Towns
Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry, UCC
Climate & Health Alliance
Cork Environmental Forum
Cork Healthy Cities
Cyclist.ie
Dublin Commuter Coalition
Dublin Cycling Campaign
Get Ireland Walking
The Irish Heart Foundation
Irish Pedestrian Network
Kerry Cycling Campaign
Galway Cycle Bus
Leave No Trace Ireland
Let’s Play Cork
Love 30
Research Impact Unit,Office of the Dean of Research, Trinity College Dublin
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
Safe Food Ireland
Transport and Mobility Forum
School of Geography, UCD
School of Public Health, UCC
Spatial Dynamics, College of Engineering, UCD
The Museum of Childhood Ireland
Wee Greenway Initiative
