Land Use Planning and the Environment - Evaluation of the 'Traveling to School' action plan.

University Degree Education and Teaching

Land Use Planning

and the Environment

Evaluation of the ‘Traveling to School’ action plan.

A typical Monday morning just before nine am, as millions of people pile into their cars to get themselves to work thousands more are getting the kids into the car and off to school adding to the daily congestion levels not to mention clogging up streets surrounding the local schools – and it happens all over again later in the afternoon. As an increasing number of cars are entering UK roadways, congestion becomes more and more of a problem. Recent policies introduced by government, namely the Department for Transport (DT), have addressed this pervasive issue and have targeted the ‘school run’ as a means of filtering traffic congestion. Both benefits and criticisms have been identified within the action plan and organizations such as the RAC Foundation for Motoring (RAC) have publicly questioned the DT’s focus on the school run as a means to relieving traffic congestion. This report will examine the policy on addressing the school run introduced by the DT and evaluate the RAC’s criticisms in the attempt to produce some solutions to the school run congestion issue.

The ‘Traveling to School: an action plan’ document (known herein as TSAP) produced by the Department for Transport focuses on the school run as a contributor to the congestion problem. The TSAP indicates that over the last twenty years the method of travel used by school-aged children and youth has changed dramatically - the two ends of the spectrum indicating that car use has doubled and the proportion of students walking or cycling has dropped drastically(DT2, 2003, On-Line, p5). Mobility is the key – over time the convenience of car ownership has become increasingly accessible as financial programs have made it easier for cars to be purchased and the continuing expansion of road infrastructure has linked the population to nearly any destination of desire. Use of an automobile to drive students to school has reached the point of one in every five cars in the time just prior to 9am – now even those student who live within walking distance of the school are arriving by car (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p5). The TSAP indicates that by discouraging the use of the automobile as the means of getting to school, not only will traffic congestion and pollution rates decrease but the level of childhood obesity – currently affecting 8.5% of 6 year olds and 15% of 15 year olds – will also improve and encourage the sustaining of the general health of the students into adulthood (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p7). The TSAP acknowledges that there are several issues parents have in regards to safe walking and cycling routes, bus service and cost, safe storage facilities for bicycles at the schools and vulnerability of the children to become victims of bullying (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p7). The TSAP proposes that by promoting walking, cycling and use of public transport through the encouragement and funding of programs involving the joint effort of local communities, local authorities and the schools themselves, congestion and pollution levels will decrease, safety issues will be addressed and the general health of the young student population will improve (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p8). The TSAP indicates several areas of focus as an outline for community walk/cycle to school programs:

Promote Positive Behaviour – positive behaviour would address concerns of potential vulnerability to bullying.
Implement School Travel Plan Measures – including road safety measure and custom bus scheduling.
Implement travel planning into the school curriculum.
Extended School Day – work to schedule transport to accommodate early arrivals and late departures.
Stagger School Opening Hours – would allow improvement to bus services by spreading same amount of buses to serve more people.
Provide Adequate Storage Facilities – safe cycle storage; cloakrooms; waiting shelters; lockers etc. (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p6-8)

The RAC, in response to the ...

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Promote Positive Behaviour – positive behaviour would address concerns of potential vulnerability to bullying.
Implement School Travel Plan Measures – including road safety measure and custom bus scheduling.
Implement travel planning into the school curriculum.
Extended School Day – work to schedule transport to accommodate early arrivals and late departures.
Stagger School Opening Hours – would allow improvement to bus services by spreading same amount of buses to serve more people.
Provide Adequate Storage Facilities – safe cycle storage; cloakrooms; waiting shelters; lockers etc. (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p6-8)

The RAC, in response to the TSAP publication, has publicly questioned the targeting of the school run as a focus for change. The RAC does not dispute the fact that school run congestion is a looming problem but claims that the effects are exaggerated (RAC Foundation for Motoring, 2003, On-Line). The RAC introduces the idea that the parents who drop their children off at school often would be using the car anyway as a means of getting to work or picking up some groceries. The RAC further prompts the argument that the flexibility of government policy is where part of the problem lies within as it allows students to choose the school they attend – the chosen facility may not be a local school in which case the car may be the only realistic means of transport (RAC Foundation for Motoring, 2003, On-Line). The foundation also questions the imposing of solutions from the government claiming that it would be best left to the schools and students. The RAC further disputes the idea of staggered school start times questioning whether it would reduce congestion in practice and indicating that it could pose as an even larger contributor to congestion as parents may be making separate trips (RAC Foundation for Motoring, 2003, On-Line). In pointing out the legitimate concerns of the parents regarding the safety of their children and inadequate public transport suggests such solutions to the school run congestion problem as school travel plans, ‘walking buses’ (large group of students walking with adult supervision), school mini buses, ‘drop off zones’, and cycle clubs promoting groups of student cyclists traveling on safe routes (RAC Foundation for Motoring, 2003, On-Line).

The school run congestion problem is not specific to the UK as many other countries are experiencing the same frustration – what sets the UK apart from the others is the issue of space. With ever increasing human as well as automobile traffic populations the problem will become worse as road infrastructure will need to expand into space that isn’t or won’t be available. In addressing the school run, the TSAP identifies the problem and indicates possible solutions to reducing school run congestion and despite the RAC’s questioning of some of the proposed solutions the two sides display a common ground in some of their recommendations i.e. school travel plans and cycle clubs. To completely discourage the use of the automobile as a method of transport to school is completely unrealistic unless there are some changes made in restricting students to local schools, dramatic improvements are made to public transport and safety concerns are addressed. The following are some recommended solutions to the school run congestion problem and where responsibility should be allocated for implementation including and working in conjunction with solutions outlined in both the TSAP and by the RAC:

Provision of adequate storage facilities for bicycles and other accommodating features such as waiting shelters as it would promote and encourage cycling. (Schools)
Implement a restriction radius of a set distance away from residence from which to choose a school to encourage local school attendance thus increasing possibility of local methods of transport (some exceptions made for private schools). (Schools/Government).
Incorporate encouragement and education on travel and travel safety into the curriculum as well as creating safe travel groups such as the RAC’s suggestion of the ‘walking bus’. (Schools/Parents/School Board)
Incorporate bus/mini bus pick up and drop off programs to accommodate students that may be out of walking/cycling distance. (Schools/Government for funding)
Provide transport access guides to all students customized to each school that outlines precise information on the various routes and methods of getting to the school other then using the automobile. (Schools)
Promote the benefits of alternative methods of travel i.e. staying active and healthy and introduce campaigns and contests with prizes to spark interest in the student body. (Schools/Government)
Drop of ‘zones’ with volunteers directing traffic; improve public transport; promote bicycle ownership and use.
(Some references to (DT2, 2003, On-Line) as well as (RAC Foundation for Motoring, 2003, On-Line))

Realistically, not all of these solutions can be implemented immediately and most would require a great deal of time and effort from many groups, however, they indicate a number of starting points that over time would help ease the burden of rush hour congestion. Of course the school run is just the tip of the iceberg, representing only 1 in 5 cars on the road during the rush hours many other cars on the road are being used by adults getting to work (DT2, 2003, On-Line, p5). Indicative of the increasing trend of citizens moving to the suburbs and commuting to the city to work, most of these other cars have only one passenger – the driver – so to hand the burden of congestion relief to parents and students would be unfair. In order to see a real change in congestion levels the efforts should be placed in encouraging the working adults to seek alternative methods of transport to the automobile. Safety is not a looming issue with adults and change can be easily adapted - therefore introducing measures such as reserved lanes for cars carrying three or more passengers or levying charges for entrance to city downtowns for example may be better and more effective methods of getting a higher volume of cars off the roads.

Although the congestion caused by motorists involved in the school run is a looming issue, in all reality, change may not be easy. There also remains the question of what effect if any programs implemented to deal with the school run will have on the overall congestion problem. A potential scenario down the road may find commuters that currently use public transit to work noticing the decrease in traffic congestion, getting back into their cars and driving to work in a sense a backfire of the initial intention. If for nothing else, the encouragement of alternative methods of travel to school promotes better living by introducing regular daily exercise to the students and eliminating levels of air pollution from exhaust emissions. In light of this notion the school run congestion relief program is a truly valid venture but to target the school run as a primary congestion relief vehicle is unfair and unrealistic. The recommendations made will provide a stepping stone towards the goal of decreasing traffic flows, however, the real problem of congestion runs much deeper and if current commuting trends continue along with the modern reliance on the automobile as a means of transportation, no matter how successful the school run program is the issue of traffic congestion will be an ever present problem.

References

***Note, as some references are from the same author, EG Department for Transport, for in text referencing purposes a short form followed by a number in brackets EG (DT1) will be used for in text referencing and will correspond to the number as it lies in the reference list.***

Department for Transport (DT1), News Release (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) Beating the School Run? New research on yellow school buses. [On-Line]

Department for Transport (DT2), (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) Traveling to School: a good practice guide. [On-Line]

Department for Transport (DT3), (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) Traveling to School: an action plan. [On-Line]

District School Board Ontario North East, (Accessed Dec 10, 2003) Parents Can Be Serious Traffic Hazards. [On-Line]

Education Guardian - Press Association (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) Concerned Parents still opt for School Run [On-Line] Guardian Newspapers

Hinsliff, G., (2003) School run tolls to cut roads chaos. Guardian Unlimited Newspaper, [On-Line]

RAC Foundation for Motoring, News Release (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) School Run [On-Line]

Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI1) (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) Congestion Reduction Strategies: Identifying and Evaluating Strategies to Reduce Traffic Congestion. TDM Encyclopedia, [On-Line]

Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI2) (Accessed Dec. 10, 2003) School Transport Management: Encouraging Alternatives to Driving to School. TDM Encyclopedia, [On-Line]

Land Use Planning and the Environment - Evaluation of the 'Traveling to School' action plan.

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