The increase in the proportion of children being driven to and from school has been well documented. Driving children to school reduces their opportunities for physical activity and leads to increased traffic congestion. Greater traffic congestion is of immediate concern for child safety. Schools often make significant efforts to discourage parents from driving to school, adding to congestion and breaking traffic rules such as restricting parking to shift traffic away from areas with high pedestrian traffic. However, during peak times such at the start and end of school, where the convergence of parents and children increases the competition for space, some parents illegally park or stop. This can significantly increase the danger to children on neighbouring roads, footpaths and school crossings. In recognition of this, and following discussions with schools in Metropolitan Sydney, the authors conducted a study to test the effectiveness of a localised intervention to reduce traffic congestion around two inner-city schools. (a).
Abstract