NEWS IN BRIEF: Galway’s Cycle Bus — which helps children negotiate difficult junctions and crossings when cycling to school — is to hold a monthly family day, staring January 25.
“Delighted to announce the launch of our first family day on the 25th January, where we’ll be encouraging all members of our community to join us on our Cycling Bus, to experience the benefits of cycling, and perhaps motivate them to cycle to school, college or work,” the group said.
It also said: “We’re inviting all councillors and candidates to join us, to show how simple community led initiatives can make a genuine and meaningful impact to some of the issues facing our city.”
Delighted to announce the launch of our first family day on the 25th January, where we’ll be encouraging all members of our community to join us on our Cycling Bus, to experience the benefits of cycling, and perhaps motivate them to cycle to school, college or work! pic.twitter.com/J2gY8oALwL
— Galway School Cycle Bus (@cycle_bus) January 15, 2019
21 children from both schools today on a beautiful winters morning in Galway @GSMhicAmhlaigh @KnocknacarraNS pic.twitter.com/aEOvCFjOZt
— Galway School Cycle Bus (@cycle_bus) November 7, 2018
It would be useful if other localities could replicate this voluntary public service in order to get more children cycling to local schools, where feasible.
We have always taken the line in Cyclist.ie that it only by involving parents in cycling with their children to local schools will they experience just how cycling-hostile is our traffic management regime and traffic law enforcement effort. Only in this way will we create a bottom-up demand by parents and schools for proper #allocate4cycling.
Local politicians need to ‘feel’ this demand so that #ibikeivote will impact in time for the local elections in May/June 2019.
Every parent across the Land should be in touch with their two elected parents’ representatives on their school board of management asking them to have this discussed at Board level. If the school hasn’t availed of the ‘Cycle Right’ cycling skills training scheme then parents need to be asking why not.
Bottom-up is the name of the game.
I don’t think that you can generalise. Some schools are in locations which would allow you to run a school bus and some aren’t. Best wishes to Galway. Parents see the lack of traffic law enforcement effort around schools and if they experience just how cycling-hostile our traffic management regime is, it would put then off allowing their child to cycle.