A charity has joined together with schools and the council to improve Salford streets and walkways following advice from local school children.
On Monday, the charity Living Streets worked with the Barton Moss Primary School, Salford City Academy, Salford City Council, ForHousing and Salford City Roosters Rugby Club to act on the advice of pupils to improve and safeguard the streets of Salford.
The plans come after local students advised that some road signs needed rework and zigzag lines needed repainting. The new scheme named “Park and Stride” is a new path which hopes to reduce traffic, air pollution and road danger around the school gates.
Dan O’Connell, Project Coordinator for Living Streets, said: “Walking to school helps children and their families stay healthy and happy, while reducing congestion and cleaning up the air for the whole community.
“Families at Barton Moss Primary School and Salford City Academy can now safely walk to school in a refreshed environment. We hope to see reduced congestion on the local estate and lots more families feeling happier to walk to school, rather than drive.”
Chris Irwin, member Salford City Roosters Rugby Club, said: “We are delighted to be able to open our facilities up for such a fantastic initiative.
“The ‘Park and Stride’ scheme fits perfectly with our plans on our clubhouse being utilised as a Community Wellbeing Hub, a facility that can support local residents and services.
“As well as opening our car park up for parents, we will ensure our clubroom is available for parents and children to grab a warm drink and maybe a bite to eat to start the day.”
It is estimated that 47% of children in the UK walk to school, and with this the path hopes to reduce the risk of accidents or safety to pupils.
The route starts at Roosters Rugby Club and goes by an underpass to the estate where Barton Moss Primary School and Salford City Academy are situated.
Martyn Hague, Executive Director of Customer at ForHousing, said: “At ForHousing we’re passionate about improving people’s health and wellbeing and doing all we can to protect the planet.
“Walking to school is an easy way to fit exercise into our daily routines while helping reduce the number of cars on the road causing pollution. So it’s really great to see how the community has come together to make the walk to school for local children safer.”
Barton Moss Primary School also prides itself in taking part in WOW, a student-led scheme, where children self-report their path to school every day using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker.
With these new schemes and paths as well as the work of Living Streets, the charity hopes to encourage more children to walk their way to school and reduce the pollution caused by cars.
Dean Khaled, Kickstart Managing Director and WOW Lead at Barton Moss Community Primary School said: “This provides a much safer walking route to both schools and means children don’t have to try and cross the dangerous Junction 11 roundabout of the M60.
“It will also help to reduce traffic congestion around the estate and encourage children to get some morning exercise. A great initiative made possible from the excellent support of all partners.”
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