Kiddie Valet: School Drop Off Actions
ACTION 1: SCHOOL CROSSING SUPERVISOR
School crossing supervisors or ‘lollipop ladies’ as they were formally known as, have been helping children get to school safely for years. It is a program run in NSW by NSW Transport and is a state wide program that is part of the Safety Around School program which has been implemented nation wide.
School crossing supervisors are provided to help increase the mobility of pedestrians and vehicles around schools and this is achieved by enhancing the performance of pedestrian traffic facilities like pedestrian crossings.
Before a school crossing supervisor is hired to monitor a crossing there are a few key aspects about the crossing that the NSW Transport investigates. These are:
- the crossing must be used by infant or primary school children.
- it must be located within a school zone.
- 50 children / hour must use the crossing and 300 cars / hour must go past the crossing during peak times of morning and afternoon.
- it is a safe working environment for the supervisor.
Unfortunately in the UK they are seeing the demise of the ‘lollipop lady’ or school crossing supervisors due to the low income and minimum hours of work a day and these hours being spread out over the entire day.
Action 2: Kiss and Drop Off Scheme
The Kiss and Drop Off has been brought in around school areas to help with congestion and to stop parents parking in front of the school for long periods of time. This short term parking allows parents to drop their kids off infront of school gates and leave shortly after.
A local mum, Trish Alexander, who’s children attend a local Central Coast school said that the school had brought in this system due to huge congestions problems being caused in the morning and afternoon and said that it has helped immensly the drop off and pick up of her children and creates a much more safer environment.
Action 3: Health Implications with Drop Off Zones
Drop off zones are usually located too close to schools and usually lead to congestion and headaches for parents when they are trying to pick up and drop off their kids during peak hour times at schools. Professor Billie Giles- Corti believes that school drop off zones should be relocated and placed a few hundred metres away from schools which will ease congestion and which will also encourage students to become more active. Professor Billie Giles- Corti’s comment came after Britain’s new Public Health chief called for a ban on the school car run as a way to tackle the nations obesity crisis with children. Proffesor Giles- Corti believes if Australian schools relocate their drop off zones it’ll create a more ‘walkable’ environment around schools.
The main reason parents don’t want their children walking to school is because they are worried about the traffic around schools. This action should calm the nerves of worried parents and encourage kids to walk to school or be dropped and walk a short distance to school in a safe environment.
Sources
1.www.roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/schools/schoolcrossingsupervisorprogram.html
2. www.carmagazine.co.uk
3.health.thewest.com.au/parentsurgedtorethinkschooldropoffs
4. http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/school-kiss-and-drop-call/story-e6frfkp9-1225893374263#ixzz2btgKF2QB