Two local Lindley schools are all set to improve walking to school habits which is in line with October’s International Walk to School Month.

Cllr Cahal Burke said :

“The safety of the young people and family members that are on foot in and around the schools is of primary concern. This is the message from the two Lindley schools and they are both promoting walking to school and road safety with events being held during October.

It is encouraging that both schools are continuing to play an important role in tackling road safety in the vicinity. In the current financial climate with budgets being cut, it is good to see two local schools in my ward showing that there are lots of innovative ways to benefit from walking to school – even if that is just once or twice a week.

I am hopeful that events planned for October at the two schools will highlight there are ways of reducing the traffic and parking congestion around the schools. It will also make the area around the schools safer for the young people.

I will be taking part myself along with the Neighbourhood Policing Team and will show parents what is on offer and meet the Kirklees road safety mascot, Strider, who will be on hand to meet with the pupils and tell them why it’s good to walk to school.

Events during the month will highlight to parents through information given, how easy it is to walk to school rather than going by car. It also promotes ‘Park and Stride’ and ‘Drop and Go’ to those parents who live too far away and have to drive to school. We are hoping it will help towards reducing congestion and parking problems on the roads around both schools and improve safety. These are issues that have been of serious concern for some time for all those involved with the schools.”

Road safety outside Lindley Junior and Lindley CE Infant School has been of ongoing concern for parents for many years. In December 2011 the issue came to a head when parents protested outside the Schools blocking vehicles from entering George Street. This resulted in the police having to patrol the highway at the start and end of the school day for a number of months.

Earlier this year the Area Committee for Huddersfield committed £33,000 for works to improve road safety outside Lindley Junior and Infant Schools following the long running campaign of which Cllr Burke initiated. He will be keeping residents up to date on the developments and can be contacted for further information.
These monies will be split over the two years, with an allocation of £12,000 from 2012/13 and another £21,000 the following year.

A further contribution of £35,000 is being allocated from Highway Safety budgets. However the scheme will require planning permission and as such the overall scheme cost and contribution needed may change subject to any planning conditions implemented during this process.