Willoughby City Council has partnered with Artarmon Public School and its P&C to launch the Active Routes to School program, making Artarmon the second school in the LGA to take part following its introduction at Willoughby Public School.
The program makes it easier and safer for students to walk, ride or use public transport to school, while helping reduce the number of cars on surrounding streets during busy drop-off and pick-up times.
At Willoughby Public School, where a similar partnership was introduced, walking and cycling increased by up to 11 per cent and as many as 80 cars were removed from surrounding streets during peak times.
With around 80 per cent of Artarmon Public School families living within 1.5 kilometres of the school, Council estimates that a 10 per cent increase in walking could remove up to 50 cars from local roads during busy school periods.
Mayor Tanya Taylor said the results at Willoughby Public School showed the potential for the program at Artarmon.
"We've already seen at Willoughby Public School that giving families safer, practical alternatives to driving can make a real difference to traffic around the school," Mayor Taylor said.
"Expanding the program to Artarmon gives more families the option to leave the car at home and make the school trip safer and more active."
Students worked with Council to identify their preferred walking and cycling routes to school. Council assessed each route for safety, installed wayfinding decals and developed an interactive online map to help families plan their journey.
Artarmon Public School Principal Jono Coombes said the project gave students a chance to turn their ideas into real outcomes.
"It is one thing to talk to children about safe and active travel, but it is another to see them collaborate directly with local government to map routes, address safety concerns and share them with the wider community," Mr Coombes said.
"What made this project so special was that our students could see a real connection between their ideas and the genuine impact those routes will have on the daily life of our school community for years to come."
Students will continue tracking how they travel to and from school to measure the program's impact over time.
Transport for NSW has adopted Willoughby's approach as best practice and is investing $500,000 each year through the Get Kids Active program to help other schools and councils deliver similar projects. A $50,000 grant is supporting the Artarmon Public School partnership.
Willoughby's broader Resilient Schools Active Travel Program is also one of 11 case studies featured in Austroads' Travel to School Guidelines.
