New Government initiative supports safe walking, cycling to school

A new Government initiative aims to support children walking, cycling and scooting to school safely, a Dublin Mid-West TD has said.

Fine Gael TD, Emer Higgins has said the introduction of the Safe Routes to School  Programme will allow more school children in Dublin Mid-West to stay safe on their journey to school.

“I am very pleased to see the announcement of the Safe Routes to School  programme,” said Deputy Higgins.

“The programme is an initiative of the Departments of Transport and Education and will support more primary and post-primary school kids to be able to cycle, walk and scoot to school.”

The scheme will be operated by the Green-Schools Programme in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the local authorities.

“Kids love getting out on their bikes and scooters but we need to make sure that the journey to school is paved with the right infrastructure on all the key access routes to make the journey both fun and safe.

“The Safe Routes to School scheme will look at making sure the proper ‘front of school’ treatments are available, so children can access school grounds on their bike or scooter and also have somewhere to park it safely if they wish.

“There are so many benefits of getting out in the morning and walking, biking or scooting to school,” said Deputy Higgins.

“It’s good for your mind, your body and of course the environment.

“The programme will select a number of schools for participation this year and those that aren’t successful can reapply at a later date so I really hope all the schools in the area will express their interest and soon we’ll see kids benefitting first hand from the Safe Routes to School,” she said.