Ride a bike to school?

The Active Travel Plan (ATP) is looking to fix the barriers which currently prevent local children and teenagers riding bikes to school.

A case study found the barriers include :

• Parents are concerned about car traffic and the availability of low-risk routes for their children to ride to school
• Disconnected or incomplete bile lanes near their school
• Concerns about weather

A study commissioned as part of the ATP found that there are around 8,100 students in Orange’s 19 schools.

The study found that only about 1 in 5 students (22%) use an active option to travel to school.

The travel to school choices were :

• School bus 47%
• Car 30%
• Walking 17%
• Bike 3%
• Scooters or skates 2%

The study recommended Orange City Council work with schools to :

• Construct more footpaths
• Improve nearby bike lanes
• provide programs to participate in active travel, including providing maps of ‘quiet neighbourhood routes to schools

Draft maps are being prepared for a number of schools including this map from Bowen Public School, (18 MB) which outlines preferred routes for children to use as they travel to and from school.

Among other measures the ATP suggests measures to remind parents that children aged 12 and under are legally allowed to ride their bike on footpaths.

Orange City Council has placed the Active Travel Plan exhibition for comment for one month. The plan was drafted by transport consultants after a round of community consultation late last year.

You can have you say by :

• making a formal submission
• filing in an online survey, or
• leaving an online comment