A new bike cage at Coomera State School will encourage more students to safely cycle to school and help ease congestion.
Coomera State School is gearing up to participate in the City’s Active School Travel (AST) Program in Term 1, 2021.
To prepare the school for the program, the City co-funded the bike cage enhancement project which included a secure fence, new concrete flooring, 50 bike racks and shade sails.
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates officially opened the bike rack with a ribbon-cutting before the students enjoyed a healthy breakfast to celebrate.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Coomera State School to our Active School Travel program,” she said.
“They now have a safe, secure space to store up to 50 bikes – meaning it has the potential to remove 50 cars from the school’s pick up and drop off zone.”
As of 2021, there will be nine Gold Coast primary schools in the AST program, with the City now recruiting for a further eight schools to join the program in 2022.
Since COVID-19, there has been an increase in families and students cycling to school.
“COVID-19 has changed the way we work, live, play and travel and Gold Coast schools are no exception,” said Deputy Mayor Gates.
“As the school year comes to a close, we want to encourage families to think differently about the way students travel to and from school in 2021 and beyond.”
Since 2012, 37 schools have participated in the program, with 2000 car trips removed from the network as a result.
Participating in the AST Program can help promote safe parking and driving behaviour around schools and assist in reducing school-contributed congestion by up to 25 per cent.
Active School Travel Program:
Active School Travel is a tailored program that helps Gold Coast schools reduce congestion at the school gate by encouraging students and their families to leave the car at home and use active or public transport.
As part of the Active School Travel program, schools receive:
- a dedicated Active School Travel Officer who will provide guidance, support and resources
- assistance in developing a School Travel Plan to create and sustain travel behaviour change
- assistance in implementing initiatives such as a weekly active travel day with incentives and rewards for students
- funding to contribute towards the cost of events, teacher release and healthy breakfasts
- possible delivery of minor improvements such as bike cages, new or upgraded shared pathways.
