Transition Chesterfield

Last week we published a special Transition Chesterfield report calling for more action to make walking and cycling to school easier and safer in Chesterfield. Walking and cycling have loads of health and environmental benefits, but we are often lacking basic facilities such as safe crossing points on busy roads near schools.

 

The report was researched and written by Transition Chesterfield member Lisa Hopkinson (well done Lisa!) with input from others in Transition and local transport campaign groups.

 

The report found that despite a plethora of policies recognizing and promoting the benefits of walking and cycling to school, there is a real lack of action on the ground. Chesterfield suffers from a relatively high level of child pedestrian casualties compared to the rest of Derbyshire, but also has a relatively low percentage of children walking or cycling to school.

 

The report has been sent to Derbyshire County Council, who are responsible for looking after roads and schools, and had four key recommendations:
1.    Implement 20mph zones around all schools in Chesterfield;
2.    Provide pedestrian crossings on any roads to schools where children experience difficulty crossing;
3.    Provide funding (in association with the Primary Care Trust) for one or two dedicated cycling officers to increase the amount of cycling to school;
4.    Include more detailed information in the next Child Safety Audit which can help to identify targeted actions to promote safe walking and cycling to school.

You can download the full report here.

Or you can download the press release (a shorter read) here.