School Walking Route Project

School's out this week and drivers will have to look out for children on the roads.

Khandallah School pupils now have a safer walking route thanks to a class project - part of the school's travel plan to encourage more children to walk or cycle to school, reduce vehicle congestion outside the school gates and improve road safety.

The children came up with their own solution to make their walk to school safer - by walking through an underpass and avoiding the pedestrian crossing on busy Box Hill.

They described the underpass as "absolutely, positively disgusting" so we funded artists Ellen Coup and Amy Church to paint a mural depicting the children's fun ideas for how they'd really like to get to school - on an elephant or helicopter, by flying fox or rickshaw. The children have also attached their own small paintings to the mural wall. We also added new lights for increased security.

A survey of the schoolchildren showed nearly 64 percent were driven to school, 30 percent walked and 5 percent went by cycle, skateboard or scooter.

The school now has five 'walking school buses' with another starting this year from Khandallah village. Projects like the Box Hill mural continue to increase walking and reduce the number of car trips.