Next wednesday we will be starting a walk to school initiative called Walk on Wednesday or WOW. We are encouraging all families to take part and families that live far away can Park and Stride which means they can park in an area close to the school and walk the rest of the way.
Below you will find information from South Dublin County Council about the scheme:
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has agreed to fund a travel Behaviour Change Campaign to influence travel behaviour inSouthDublinCounty. The campaign will include Personalised Travel Planning and general community engagement.
The campaign will aim to encourage individuals to take alternatives to the car where these are available by providing tailored travel advice, incentives and resources. Tailored travel advice can be delivered directly to households at the doorstep, through community nodes and through community events.
In theUK, PTP has been reported to reduce car driver trips by up to 8-9% amongst the targeted population. Other reported benefits include increased walking and cycling with health benefits; increased public transport use and viability for transport services; increased viability for local shops and businesses; more sociable and ‘liveable’ neighbourhoods; stronger partnerships between the agencies and organisations involved; and improved local air quality and reductions in carbon emissions.
Personalised Travel Planning was first trialled inIrelandin 2009, with the Smarter Travel Adamstown pilot inSouthDublinCounty. The current programme is a follow on to the successful Adamstown pilot.
The Travel Smart Communities project is managed by South Dublin County Council and is overseen at a strategic level by a project Steering Group.
The geographic focus of Phase 1 is communities of Lucan Esker and Clondalkin Dunawley. It is proposed to engage with schools in the Lucan and Clondalkin areas to promote ways of reducing car use on the trip to and from school and to reduce the impact of traffic on the community around the school.
The Schools engagement will run from March-May 2012 with schools being revisited in September 2012. The Travel Smart Communities team will offer schools a programme of information days and events coinciding with weeks such as Eco Week (23rd-27th April) Walk to School Week (21st– 25th May) and Bike Week (16th-24th June). The team will visit schools in the area and offer advice and assistance on travel behaviour change, carry out travel surveys and cycle facilities surveys. Assistance will be provided in establishing or promoting weekly events such as Walk on Wednesday and Cycle on Wednesday. Resources available to schools can be in the form of travel packs for students, consisting of Hi-Vis jacket, slap-wraps, rucksack, maps of local their local area etc. Further resources can be provided to schools in the form of cycle parking facilities and appropriate prizes for competitions. The programme will also involve the provision of cycle training to schools. The schools will be part of a wider community programme and will gain assistance in reducing the number of car trips to school and contribute to reducing the overall level of car use in the community.