Ride 2 School: Council drops the ball on safe streets for kids
October is almost over, wrapping up Glen Eira City Council’s annual Ride 2 School program. The program aims to encourage students to walk or ride to school, reduce traffic congestion, improve road safety and help the environment.
During this initiative, Council installed colourful decals on footpaths showing the distance to school and encouraging students to "stop, look, listen and think" when crossing the road. In collaboration with schools and Bicycle Network, they mapped safe routes to schools and offered prizes to students who chose to walk or ride.
Decals installed by Glen Eira City Council.
However, despite these lofty ambitions, Council's execution was a complete flop. Placing decals on footpaths achieves nothing substantial in terms of creating safer streets for Glen Eira’s children. Nor does it make any progress in alleviating traffic congestion or in benefiting the environment.
Last November Councillor Simone Zmood said she wanted “to prioritise cycling for our most vulnerable users – our children”. However, Council remains inexplicably averse to any meaningful changes to our cycling infrastructure.
In stark contrast, Merri-bek Council has embraced the Ride 2 School program to a far greater extent. They introduced "Open Streets", cordoning off streets around schools, allowing space for walking, riding, and playing without the presence of cars. Active travel, including walking, riding, and scooting, increased by an impressive 19% on average while the Ride 2 School program was running.
An astounding 97% of the school community found the Open Streets considerably safer, and 93% expressed their support for the program's continuation. Kids loved Open Streets, highlighting the extra time with friends and the ability to roam freely without fear. Traffic surveys revealed minimal impacts on traffic in surrounding streets, and in some cases, even a decrease.
Open Streets
You can read more about the success of Open Streets on the Bicycle Network website.
Image Credit: Bicycle Network
Streets Alive Glen Eira asked Council what progress they have made in improving safety for children travelling to school. Paul Wood, Interim Director of Planning and Place, responded on behalf of Council stating:
“Our upgrades and improvements to cycling infrastructure are guided by our Cycling Action Plan. Most recently this has included traffic calming measures and improved signage to the Rosstown Rail Trail, making this route safer for cyclists, including children…”
The installation of speed humps and signs on the Rosstown Rail Trail, indicating shared road usage by bikes and vehicles, may contribute to reduced traffic speeds. Nevertheless, these measures do not offer substantial protection for riders. Likewise, the footpath decals appear to transfer the burden of safety onto children, rather than holding drivers accountable, thus failing to offer genuine protection to our kids.
One of the new flat-top speed-humps installed on the Rosstown Rail Trail.
This is an extremely disappointing outcome, especially considering that several Councillors who voted against bike lanes on Inkerman Road nearly a year ago, said that the priority should be getting “kids starting to ride”.
It's crucial to make strides towards a safer and more inclusive environment for our young community members. After all, it's the children's well-being, happiness, and future that are at stake.
We call on Glen Eira City Council to get serious about creating safe spaces for everyone. We hope next year they implement Open Streets as part of the Ride 2 School program like Merri-bek and other councils have done.
If you’re passionate about creating safer streets for kids and want to be a part of the solution, please join us in advocating for change.
You can read more about the Active Schools program on council’s website: https://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/our-city/sports-and-leisure/active-schools
