Park and Stride
As children go back to school after the mid term break, Greystones Cathaoirleach Councillor Lourda Scott is calling on families and schools to get involved in setting up a park and stride scheme in their area. Already successfully run by Greystones Educate Together National School, Park and Stride is a very simple way for families who live further away to enjoy all the benefits of walking to school; the idea being that people park away from the school and make the rest of the trip on foot. The scheme offers an alternative to driving children all the way to the school gate as well as adding towards the recommended 30 minutes of daily physical exercise.
Speaking on the matter Scott says; “As a parent of three primary school children, every day I see the amount of traffic building up around our schools. I understand how time pressured parents are and often drive to school while on the way to work or a crèche drop off, as it is simply the quickest way to get there. It won’t suit everyone, but if we can think of parking a little bit away from the school and walking the rest of the way once or twice a week , it will help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution at the school gates. It also gives us a chance to get some exercise in and may even speed up the overall journey time. ”
Cllr Scott thanks Tesco Greystones who agreed to participate by allowing Parents/Guardians to use their car park for a short period of time while they walk their child to school. Participating carparks could be used also as Drop ‘n’ Hop locations for older children to make their way to school independently .
“This type of scheme has worked very well elsewhere such as the formal park and stride scheme operated by Galway City Council. I am often contacted about the problem of traffic around schools and subsequent safety issues. Active travel initiatives such as walking buses and park and stride schemes are measures that parents and children can be directly involved with, and most importantly have fun doing. If a school community wants more information about this please contact me. ” Scott concludes.