Councillors have supported a call by the Green Party for City Hall officials to “investigate prioritising cycling lanes and infrastructure outside of schools”.
The motion was put forward at the recent city council meeting by Green councillors Pauline O’Reilly and Martina O’Connor. It was passed unanimously. Afterwards, Cllr O’Reilly said the motion was a means to combat “the car park approach to the school gates” - where the approaches to schools can become traffic heavy zones, making them unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians.
“If we start outside every school and work out from there we would make cycling feasible from home to school,” she said. “The evidence is clear that children who who cycle become adults who cycle. This is good for our health and the planet.”
She added: “There’s a clear demonstration of how much school collections contribute to the traffic congestion and our carbon footprint when we look at the drop in traffic during school holidays. This plan would work for everyone.”
