Westport schools want action on cycle routes
WESTPORT’S Active Travel to School group has called on Mayo County Council to take immediate action to put safe, segregated cycle and walking routes in place through the town and on all routes to schools in the Westport area.
They say the resources are there to do it through the National Development Plan, and this week the Climate Action Plan has reinforced that.
The group further called on schools to address the weight of schoolbags and unsuitable uniforms which are stopping kids cycling.
The number of students cycling to school has plummeted since the 1980s. A cursory count at the bike racks in schools, particularly at second level, will show one thing very clearly - what was once the norm is now the exception.
However, an epidemic of childhood obesity and the climate crisis are two developments that have brought into sharp focus the benefits of cycling and have triggered a campaign to increase the numbers taking to the bike, instead of the car, to get to school.
The Active Travel to School group, comprising Green Schools from Brackloon National School, Rice College and the Sacred Heart School, carried out a survey of their pupils to help understand the current habits and choices they are making. In total, they surveyed 791 Westport students (496 girls and 295 boys, ranging from 4 to 18 years).
The key findings are:
Only 1% cycle to school.
47% travel to school by car with a parent.
32% of students living within 1km of school travel by car.
67% of students living 1-5k from school travel by car.
33% travel by bus (mostly from the longer distances).
93% cycle outside school life.
The top three reasons they like cycling are fun, fitness and fresh air.
The number 1 safety concern stopping them from cycling to school is that roads are too dangerous.
The number 1 other obstacle to cycling to school is the weight of their schoolbag.
"Safety is the big concern,” according to Gearóid Ó Riain, a teacher in the Sacred Heart School. “With the current national focus on climate action, and significant resources being pumped by government into cycling and walking infrastructure, there has never been a better time for the local authority to address the safety issues and extend the segregated, safe infrastructure around and through the town.
“Of course, everyone will benefit from that, not just schoolchildren. But the ball is clearly in Mayo County Council’s court.”
Brendan Tunney, principal of Brackloon National School, which is part of the National Safes Routes to School Initiative, explained: “The survey results point to several steps we can take to increase the numbers cycling to school.
“Parents of those students living within 5km of the school (considered easily cyclable in 15 minutes) could wean their children off the car, initially on good weather days or through the organisation of so-called 'cycle buses' for younger students, as we have done here in Brackloon.”
Ó Riain suggested: “Schools could review their book and IT policies to reduce bag weight. Sacred Heart School has identified that our Bring Your Own Device initiative has significantly lightened the school bags of this year’s first year students.”
Fergal Macken, a teacher in Rice College, recommended that schools carry out a review of school uniform policies to make it easier and more comfortable for those who opt to cycle. “In Rice College we have taken steps in this regard and, on PE days, we now allow students who cycle to school to wear their PE uniform.”