St Bartholomew’s Primary School Travel Plan
May 2004
Quorn St Bartholomew’s Primary School has been working in partnership
with Quorn Parish Council to produce a School Travel Plan.
The School Travel Plan scheme is a national initiative supported
by Leicestershire County Council. The working group that has produced
the St Bartholomew’s plan is made up of parents, governors,
Parish Council and school staff.
The main aims of our School Travel Plan are:
To improve the safety to and from school by improving
safety on the route and parking congestion outside the school.
To get a higher percentage of the children walking to and from school,
(which is healthier and ‘greener’).
The Grand Launch
The official launch is week commencing Monday 24th May. This coincides
with National Walk to School Week. During that week we will have:
Our own Walk to School Week
A trial ‘Park and Stride’ scheme from The Quorndon
Fox (see below)
Collecting cards and stickers for walking (or cycling), with
awards for all the children that collect five stickers during the
week
A poster competition
Special assemblies
Bollards, balloons, posters and leaflets on the corners of Willowcroft
and Warwick Avenue to discourage parking
Each morning the children will be greeted at the school gates by
members of the STP Working Group (helped by teachers etc), and
will be giving out a small reward to all those children who have walked
or cycled, all or part of the way, eg a sweatshirt sticker, a
bookmark etc.
The School Travel Plan has been supported
by the whole community including the Police, neighbours, parents,
governors, teachers
etc. Local MP Andy Reed has backed us all the way. He wrote us
a personal
letter of encouragement and will be coming to our launch week (Monday
morning 8.45, 24th May), to help give out stickers to the children.
The Parish Council are contributing £150 towards stickers and
awards.
St Bartholomew’s School Travel Plan
Questionnaires were sent out to all the children and parents and
these were analysed. The initiatives we have identified
are in Appendix one of the School Travel Plan, however the major
ones
are:
1. Pedestrian Crossing
A pedestrian crossing over Loughborough Road between Farley Way and
Woodhouse Road.
There are three sections to cross, with traffic coming from various
directions. 96% of parents surveyed felt this constituted a Serious
(74%) or Moderate (22%) safety risk. From our survey 30% of our children
in the school walk or cycle across this crossing every day.
Pedestrian lights here would also benefit many other residents of
the village.
The existing traffic lights have no pedestrian lights and are due
for renewal. They are 17 years old, when the normal life of a traffic
lights complex is around thirteen years. The lights should therefore
be renewed as soon as possible and should incorporate pedestrian
lights.
2. Walking School Bus
There is a large amount of support for a Walking School Bus from
the Farley Way area, and helpers have been identified. Without a
pedestrian crossing, this simply cannot go ahead. Parents will not
(and cannot be expected to) take responsibility for crossing other
people's children, when it is so dangerous. Our surveys shows that
a significant number of potential users of the Walking School Bus
currently travel by car. However, until the Farley Way crossing is
safe, this cannot be translated into a practical proposition.
3. Improved safety and parking around the school
As a direct result of the School Travel Plan, County Highways are
going to put zig-zag lines around the junction of Warwick Avenue
and Willowcroft near the school entrance. Parents are thrilled, because
this will give children a safe, clear stretch in which to cross Warwick
Avenue. The previous situation was a disaster waiting to happen.
4. Park and Stride
It is recognised that many parents have to drive to school. During
our launch week we are trialling a ‘Park and Stride’ scheme.
This means parents will park at a local pub/restaurant (The Quorndon
Fox) and then walk to school from there. We are very grateful to
the landlady, Sadie Booth, for allowing us to use her car park. If
this is successful it will be extended.
5. Alternative Entrance
At present there is a minor entrance to the school, which can only
be used during dry weather. Producing the School Travel Plan has
entitled the school to a grant which will be used to build a path
around the field so this entrance can be used by walkers and cyclists
in all weathers.
Documents Documents relating to this news item are contained on
the Parish Council website in the Documents section.
Alternatively, select the links below:
