Bid aims to support school riders

A scheme designed to increase the number of children cycling to school in Dulwich, south-east London, is seeking more than £2m funding from Transport for London. Southwark council and Dulwich Young Cyclists (DYC) are expecting to hear if their bid has been successful by the end of March. 

London Cycling Campaign’s chair Ann Kenrick says: “Dulwich is home to over 10,000 children at around 19 schools. During school drop off and pick up times the congestion is appalling, the air quality inevitably poor and tempers are high!”

Kenrick points to a recent survey carried out by DYC, which showed that 85% would switch to cycling if it were safer. This backs up the findings of a Sustrans survey in 2010, which revealed that nearly half of UK children wanted to cycle to school but only 4% were allowed to.

Over the past 10 years Kenrick and other parents in Dulwich have worked with Southwark council and Transport for London to improve cycling routes to schools. “We have got funding for infrastructure changes, which reduced car journeys to school in one case by nearly 50% and increased walking by a third,” she says. “But there are still many parents who are too nervous to let their kids cycle to school.”

At Cycle City Ann Kenrick will offer her insights into how to promote cycling and walking to school.