Published Tuesday 6 October 2020 at 15:58
It’s Walk to School Week, and if you’re still battling with the traffic to and from school, this is your opportunity to make the journey on foot and see what a difference it makes.
Changing just one journey a day can have a really positive impact on your family’s wellbeing.
Active kids do better at school, and by introducing more walking to short journeys we can reduce the amount of cars on the road at peak times, making it safer for everyone.
Congestion causes problems for local air quality, and research shows kids in our communities need to be more active to help them avoid long term health issues.
Road safety officer for Blackburn with Darwen Council, Karen Timperley, sees the impact of too many cars at school gates:
We know parents want their child to get to school safely, and one of the ways they can help improve safety for all school children is to switch from driving to walking, even if it’s the last few blocks.
There are a number of ways we can reduce local congestion and we’re working with a number of schools in the borough to make a safer school gate experience.
Blackburn with Darwen Council recently installed CrowdedCross technology at a number of busy pedestrian crossings in the borough.
Head of highways, Dwayne Lowe said:
We’re delighted to be the first local authority to utilise this crossings technology to make crossing the road safer and touch free, helping us stay Covid safe while we are out and about, and making our crossings accessible for all.
Find out more about School Streets here or email the Community Safety team at Blackburn with Darwen Council: Community.safety@blackburn.gov.uk