Imagine a world where our tamariki are all healthy and active, where they are allowed to be kids and just have fun, where basic things like getting to school safely using the travel method they prefer is a given, and not something they have to navigate. 

This is the vision for a new pilot scheme being run in several Southland schools. 

Active Southland’s Healthy Families Invercargill team is working with three local schools on active travel plans – a system designed to help the school create opportunities for its students to use active transport to travel to and from school, and encourage and support parents to also be involved. 

Healthy Families Invercargill active transport systems innovator Laura Thompson said the plans were about creating environments around the school so children were able to get there safely. 

“We know parents want the best for their children, and often there is the view that walking, biking or scootering is scary or unsafe. But we also know there are lots of ways to reduce those issues and that’s what we are working with the schools to achieve.” 

Other organisations, including Police, Road Safety Southland, and councils, are also involved. 

Using active transport creates opportunities for families to be healthier and more connected, Laura said. 

“Often, that time walking home from school, or biking to school in the morning, is such a great chance for families to connect and talk. And of course, being more physically active has so many health benefits, all of which help create healthier, safer, more connected families, and ultimately, communities.” 

The three schools involved in the pilot are Winton Primary School, Te Anau Primary School, and Windsor North School. All three have their own unique issues when it comes to active transport, so it is hoped that by using their experiences other schools will adopt their own active travel plans, Laura said. 

Winton School principal Steve Wadsworth said working with Active Southland and creating the active travel plan made sense for his school. 

“It was a no brainer for me because road safety is key. We have been pretty lucky, touch wood, that we haven’t had anything major happen, but we always hear of little incidents.” 

Drop off and pick up times around the school were chaotic and at times cars had been parked three abreast outside the school on Great North Road. Encouraging and supporting families to use other methods of travelling to school was not only healthier for everyone involved, but would also result in significantly reduced traffic congestion, which would make things safer for everyone, he said. 

The travel plans would include safe cycling, scootering and walking routes, consultation with the school community and other organisations, and a range of other transport-related topics. 

A survey of students at Winton School shows more than 50 percent would like to use active transport to get to school, however most were travelling by family car.  

The survey also shows that convenience (dropping children off on the way to work, and distance from home) and safety are among the most significant concerns for parents when it comes to allowing their children to travel to school actively. 

Their children were more likely to travel to school using active transport if traffic was slower, there were safer places for the children to cross, there were more and better maintained footpaths, and there were more off-road bike paths or more separated on-road bike lanes, respondents said. 

Students spoken to also said that the driving behaviour of adults dropping children off at school was sometimes scary and it would be great if there were fewer cars at drop off zones, and if traffic congestion was improved. 

“We know you are in a hurry but we know we need to get to school safely,” they said. 

Biking, scootering, and walking to school was also much more fun, they said. 

Article added: Friday 23 September 2022