Walk, cycle or scoot to school

Get to school on your own fuel!

That’s the message from cycling campaign groups from all of Ireland as Cyclist.ie has issued a call for parents, teachers, schools, sports clubs, local authorities and other groups and individuals to take part in a walk, cycle or scoot to school promotion to help families familiarise themselves with their school routes.

The promotion began on 15 August and will run until 29 August.

Key to getting more children to get back to school ‘on their own fuel’ is the familiarisation of routes from home to school. School children of all ages, primary and secondary, can participate and ideally they will link with other families, teachers, parent associations, and with local organisations to test and plan the safest routes from home to school for cycling and walking.

Speaking on behalf of the national cycling campaign Cyclist.ie, Dr Damien Ó Tuama said: “There is no better time for children and parents to trial new, healthier, active travel ways to get to school. We have all long suffered the traffic jams, polluted air and general chaos of the school run by car. We will help people check their bikes over, plan a fun and safe route to school and demonstrate how to lock your bike correctly.”

Allison Roberts, a spokesperson for the Clonakilty Bicycle Festival, said: “Following on from the Government’s urging of people to choose walking and cycling over other modes of transport, we want to help people make the first step.

“There has never been a better time for local authorities to accelerate the introduction of new measures to make ‘active travel’ as easy and as safe as possible. We are in a changed world, and we need to see changes on our roads and streets to make cycling safer all day, everyday for all ages and abilities.”