MEDIA STATEMENT
18 February 2004

IA Awards First Grant For School Travel Plans

Statement made by John Robertson, Chairman, Infrastructure Auckland

With 40% of morning peak hour travel education-related, Infrastructure Auckland IA is pleased to announce a grant of $203,000 to three schools in North Shore City for packages of traffic reduction measures known as school travel plans.

School Travel Plans provide a comprehensive package of measures that make it safer and more convenient for children to walk or cycle to school rather than be driven by their parents.

The three primary schools involved – Bayswater, Browns Bay and Vauxhall – are to be congratulated for leading the way in the reduction of peak hour congestion around schools. They are targeting a 10% reduction in children driven to school in the first year, 5% in subsequent years.

They are expected to reduce the number of car trips by 250 per day.

School Travel Plans typically including a range of measures such as pedestrian crossings, walkways, cycleways, walking school buses, traffic calming measures, intersection improvements and safety-travel education.

They are based on comprehensive research into the travel needs and behaviour of students in a particular school community.

The North Shore plans descend from IA’s “Innovative Transport Solutions” workshop held in late 2001. That brainstorming workshop resulted in support for school travel plans.

If used as a model for schools across the region, the Bayswater, Browns Bay and Vauxhall travel plans could provide a significant reduction in Auckland’s traffic congestion.

Ends.

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