As my own kids join the thousands of others across Kilkenny going back to school this week, like many families we’re considering how to get them to the school gates safely and without contributing unnecessarily to the rush hour traffic that we know is exacerbated by school transport. As we embark on a new school year, it's important that we work together with parents, schools and the local authority to give our children safe routes to school and I'm encouraging parents to plan ahead and help reduce the number of cars around our schools by prioritising safe and sustainable school transport options for their children.
There are many options available, including lift sharing or carpooling where possible, and if the school is in walking distance parents could organise a ‘walking bus’ or ‘bike bus’ among a number of families, which would pick up kids at designated meeting points along the route and allow them to walk, scoot or cycle safely and supervised to school.
In saying this, I’m mindful of course that from a road safety perspective, there are many parts of the city that simply aren't safe for children to cycle. While I welcome the resurfacing works and the new improved cycle lanes on the Granges Road, which is outside two of the biggest schools in the city, Loreto Secondary and St. Canice’s National School, unfortunately, while we still have Heavy Goods Vehicles trundling past these schools, we really can’t expect parents to feel confident that their children could cycle to school safely along this route.
In that regard, it's vital that Kilkenny County Council continues to prioritise the next phase of the Kilkenny Ring Road. I'll be doing all that I can to support the next instalment of funding being sought by the local authority, but it remains a huge source of frustration for me that this project hasn't been a priority to date. It's at this back to school juncture that we become hyper-aware once again of the dangers on our roads for pedestrians, cyclists and our most vulnerable road users, but most people also acknowledge the need to reduce our car-dependency, reduce our transport emissions, and give our children the freedom and the health benefits they’ll enjoy from getting to school under their own steam.
Whatever the options for your school or area, I’m urging parents to plan ahead for what is going to be a busy return to school period and to work together with the schools (and the local authority where appropriate) to put plans in place to support safe, sustainable school transport, be that bus, walking bus, cycle bus, carpooling or other means.
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