Right now, in most of the Australia, kids want to walk and ride to school but sadly, poor infrastructure and outdated traffic management plans mean many streets on their journey are not safe enough to do so.
All kids and families should be able to enjoy getting to school safely.
We’re starting campaigns in our Local Government Areas to call on the council to build crossings, footpaths or set lower speed limits within 2km of schools. These are research-backed measures proven to make walking and cycling safer for our children.
Many families who currently drive would rather walk or ride, our aim is that many more children have the option to walk or ride to school.
Safe Streets to School is asking within 2km of every school for:
Crossings
Pedestrian priority crossings on streets with speed limits 40km/h and higher
Footpaths
Footpaths on streets with speed limits 40km/h and higher
or 30km/h limits
30km/h speed limits for streets where there are no pedestrian priority crossings or footpaths
Who are we?
We are a group of concerned residents and parents who have come together to campaign for safer streets for children to walk or ride on, the whole way from their home to school. We are currently gathering signatures on our petition as well as engaging the community and stakeholders on making school journeys safe.
How can I help?
Please sign and share our petition. Kids can sign our petition too as long as they are old enough to understand it.
Can’t see a petition for your LGA yet? Contact us to start at a chapter at info@safe-streets-to-school.org or sign up as a supporter and get notified when a new chapter is started. We are also looking for volunteers to distribute flyers.
Does this matter?
Active travel to school comes with significant mental and physical health benefits for kids and long-term public health benefits.
The habits kids form in primary school are carried throughout life.
However Australia has one of the lowest share of walking and cycling to school out of all OECD countries and road safety concerns are one of the major barriers.