A JOINT collaboration between local schools and Wollongong City Council will aim at improving the city’s transport network.

As part of The Safer Routes to School initiative, Council says it is committed to working with local schools to make getting to and from school safer for the 30,000 students.

As part of the project, a unique report is developed with each school. The report considers road safety around their school and identifies ways to encourage and support active travelling.

The report includes an action plan outlining recommendations such as any need for new infrastructure or facilities as well as actions to update or replace nearby assets (signs, crossings, paths, links to public transport etc).

Council can use the report to seek available grant funding opportunities from State and Federal Government and inform project planning for our Infrastructure Delivery Program (IDP).

One school that has completed the Safer Routes to School report is Corrimal East Public School.

For Principal Jemima Gammone, she felt well supported by Council during the process. Following her initial discussions with the school’s P&C members and onsite evaluations by Council, a draft plan was presented to Ms Gammone for their school community to give feedback on.

“What we had was a number of parents that volunteered and gave some of their feedback around what they would think would be most beneficial in terms of trying to improve traffic congestion and overall safety for our school community,” Ms Gammone said.

“There are short term and long-term goals, that we are working on together with Council, but we are really glad to see some improvements around safety and the traffic zones around our schools.

“Our P&C members really valued being part of that consultation process and being able to have a voice.”

Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown said that the collaborative efforts between Council and school communities is key to the Safer Routes to School initiative.

“We’re taking the lead in our industry through this bold and ambitious initiative, but we’re serious in making road safety a priority around our schools. That’s why we want to work with each individual school to plan ways we can keep our younger community safe and encourage walking and cycling to school,” Cr Brown said.

“This is an opportunity to hear from families and staff about their experience at drop off and pick up times. It is then Council’s role to bring expert knowledge to help address these concerns. We can also advocate for integrated planning with all forms of transport, including public transport when improvements fall outside of Council’s scope.

“This initiative values a meaningful collaboration for a way forward. It recognises that each school location is different and a ‘one-size fits all’ approach is not viable for our 80 plus school precincts.”

A core focus of the initiative is to support active transport such as walking, cycling, scooting and skateboarding. In the report, journey mapping is included to identify the school’s walking and cycling paths. This can help Council know where to invest and at which points do people want safe separations from cars.

Cr Brown said where people were able to choose a car-free route to school, there were many positive benefits such as physical exercise, improved mental health, and reduced congestion for those that need to travel by car.

“Some of the best school memories can come from those walks to school with your parent or the bike rides home with your mates. On top of this, choosing an active way to school means there’s less car congestion,” she said.

“There’s a great example in Corrimal East Public School where they’ve so many bike riders, they need to get more racks. We’d like to see more of this. Council will continue to do their part, so that more people can be comfortable and feel safe to do this.”

In the Wollongong Local Government Area, there are more than 80 primary and high schools. To allow for a detailed process with each school, Council is targeting a few at a time. Visit our Safer Routes to School webpage to see completed school reports, find out more information and to see how you can get involved.

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