Presented at the 2017 AITPM National Conference by Paul Froggatt

1. Making School Travel as Easy as ABC
The City of Darwin Safe and Active
Routes to Schools Toolkit

2. Introduction
• Project Background
• Stakeholders and Consultation
• Toolkit Development
• Toolkit Sections
• Pilot School Engagement and Activities
• Evaluation and Review
• Toolkit Launch
• Where to from here?

3. Project Background
• The importance of encouraging active transport
practices throughout the community
• Increased car use and the significant decrease in physical
activity
• Increased obesity levels in adults and children
• Supporting active travel in children from a young age is an
opportunity to establish life long active habits
• Safety concerns relating to school travel
• Project identified through road safety audit
• Holistic approach needed
• Development of a Safe and Active Routes to School
Toolkit
• Build on existing initiatives and opportunities
• Parap Primary School identified as pilot school
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4. Safe and Active Routes to School Toolkit
Aims
• Improve safety levels for children travelling to school
• To encourage active travel in the school community
Benefits:
• Reduces traffic and parking issues
• Improve physical health of students and their families
• Development of lifelong healthy habits
• Increase student’s independence
• Environmental benefits through reduced emissions
• Increase community connections
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5. Stakeholders and Consultation
External Stakeholders City of Darwin Internal Stakeholders
NT Department of Education Manager Community Development
NT Department of Health Family and Children’s Services
NT Department of Transport Recreation and Open Space
NT Police Force Team Leader Design
Kidsafe NT Strategic Town Planner
Heart Foundation Manager Design Planning
Pedals NT Community & Cultural General Manager
NT Council of Government Schools Infrastructure General Manager
Parap Primary School
Nightcliff Primary School
Stuart Park Primary School
Wulagi Primary School

6. Toolkit Development
• Draw on existing research and activities
• Existing NT school active travel initiatives
• National and International best practice and case studies
• Published research on outcomes from other schools/States
• Web-based format
• Enable flexibility of adoption – menu based activities
• Clear and simple language and structure – aimed at
non-technical users
• Infrastructure commentaries should reflect relevant
standards and guidelines

7. Travel to School Fiction
• Stranger Danger is a bigger problem these days
• It’s safer to drive my children to school
• It’s too far to walk to school
• My children would be too tired from walking
• I save time driving my children to/from school
• My children would have to be woken up earlier
to walk to school
• My child doesn’t like walking
• My child has no road sense
• My child could get lost
• =Any excuse not to change!!

8. Travel to School Facts
(source: www.bicyclenetwork.com.au)

9. Travel to School Facts
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10. The Toolkit
• The Toolkit is split into six sections;
• Background Information and How to use guides
• Governance
• Catchment
• Activities
• Travel Plan
• Environment
• Pages in each section set out how to guides,
tips, best practice and case study examples (NT
where available)
• Structure designed to be web based and easy to
follow with simple language

11. Toolkit – Background Sections
• How to use guides
• Model surveys
• Parents
• Students
• “Hands up” classroom surveys
• Travel Plan templates
• Fiction and Fact
• Exploding the urban myths
• Undermining the excuses

12.  governance
options
 setting out roles
and
responsibilities
 understanding
the profile of
school
 understanding
catchment area
 improve walking/
cycling routes
 Improve road
safety
 events and
activities to
encourage
walking/cycling
 documenting
current travel
patterns
 develop an
action plan to
achieve change

13. Governance Toolkit
• The Governance Toolkit includes;
• What is Governance?
• Project Champion
• School Role
• Student Groups
• Parent Groups
• City of Darwin Role
• NT Government Role
• Stakeholder Communication
EXAMPLE

14. Catchment Toolkit
• The Catchment Toolkit includes;
• Introduction
• Student Homes
• Existing Walking and
Cycling Routes
• School Entrances
• Parking Locations
• Overcoming Barriers
EXAMPLE

15. Activities Toolkit
• The Activities Toolkit includes;
• Activities Introduction
• Cycle to School Days
• Cycling Bus/Bike Train
• Wheels Day
• Walking and Cycling Buddies
• Walking School Bus
• Walk to School Days
• Park and Stride
• School Crossing Wardens
• Reward Schemes
• Education Programs EXAMPLE

16. Travel Plan Toolkit
• The Travel Plan Toolkit
includes;
• Creating a Travel
Plan
• Updating the Travel
Plan
EXAMPLE

17. Environment Toolkit
• The Environment Toolkit
includes;
• Introduction
• Footpaths and Walking
• Crossings
• Cycling Route
Infrastructure
• Bicycle Parking
• Managing Traffic at
Schools
• Maintenance
EXAMPLE

18. Parap Primary School - Pilot
• Initial surveys to develop school profile
• School Engagement and Workshops
• Audit of local area walking/cycling networks
• Identified potential activities based on existing
networks
• Future opportunities

19. Parap School Context

20. Pilot School Baseline Surveys
• Developed a school profile through surveys
• Parap Primary School tested the toolkit pro-forma surveys

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Observations showed some of the travel patterns
Pilot School Baseline Travel

22. School Profile – Student Locations
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23. Parap School Engagement
• School Council meeting and parent workshop
• Initial presentations of the toolkit
• School Council discussions on overall objectives and
Governance options
• Exploring existing travel patterns and motivators with
parents
• Identifying active travel barriers and road safety concerns
• Discussion of parents views surrounding independent
active travel for students – generally year 4

24. Parap School Engagement
• Student workshops
• Pre-existing cohort of students; eco-schools group leaders
• Use of large scale aerial and road maps
• Plotting locations and routes that they know – good
awareness of their local area from the maps
• Safe and unsafe locations on the route to school (“treat”
shops vs barking dogs)
• Knowledge of the identified safe houses
• Views on road safety and independent travel – year 2-3;
much more confident in their own abilities compared to
their parents (and an element of peer bravado!)

25. Student Workshops

26. Potential Activities
Park and Stride Location
Parap Swimming Pool
Car Park
Parap Primary School
Existing Crossing

27. Parap School Activities
• Other potential options
• Walking bus, including a stop at the park and stride
• Cycling bus, school to identify routes
• Other cycling activities and route promotion
• Development of a school based active travel reward
scheme

28. Existing Local Area
Maintenance Issues

29. Existing Local Area
Discontinuous Footpaths/Kerb ramps

30. Existing Local Area
Blocked Footpaths

31. Potential future opportunities
• Phased
footpath
implementation
program
• Future
development
growth
• Develop a local
bicycle network

32. Evaluation and Review
• Implementation Targets
• Identify key contact at all Schools
• Meet with all schools within 12 months
• Monitor uptake of the Toolkit and implementation of activities
• Update toolkit
• Invite new local case studies
• Develop and refine local resources and templates with feedback from the
schools
• Pilot school
• Targets for initial activity delivery, local footpath improvements and further
activities
• Evaluation of the program
• Invite and review feedback on the toolkit processes
• Develop a newsletter to report success stories (locally and elsewhere)

33. Toolkit Launch
• Parap Primary School
• Student activity
• Lord Mayor presentation
• Morning tea and parents information
session
• Give away - flip bands

34. Where to from here?
• Promotion
• Schools
• Stakeholders
• Neighbourhood Watch (Safe house network)
• Palmerston Council
• Update toolkit
• New local case studies
• Resources and templates
• Pilot school
• Activity Launch and Critical Local
Improvements
• Evaluation of the program
• 6 months
• 12 months

35. Summary
• Toolkit borne from a desire to fundamentally change
school travel assumptions and practices
• Provides an easy to use guide in simple language
• Enhancement with more local case studies to show
what can be achieved
• Structure is flexible and adaptable for all school
circumstances
• Toolkit could be readily adapted to other Council
areas

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Thank you!
Questions?