Students at Lloyd Street Primary are riding, scooting, and walking to school easier and safer this month, thanks to the Open Streets program.
The City of Stonnington has partnered with Bicycle Network to run Open Streets, a program designed to make it safer for families to walk and ride to school during drop off and pick up times.
The trial will see Summerhill Avenue in Malvern East opened up to pedestrians and cyclists at morning and afternoon drop off and pick up times over three days in February, turning the street into a safe place for families walking, cycling or scooting to school. It also creates a social space for before and after school activities such as skipping, hula hooping and chalk drawing.
Open Streets is all about encouraging more families to leave the car at home and ride or stride to school, by providing a safe space in and around the school, reducing traffic congestion in the school area and creating calmer, quieter streets for residents and students.
Families who can't walk or ride for the entire journey between home and school are being encouraged to park in designated streets nearby and walk the final short distance. And, to make the short walk even safer an attendant is on hand to help families cross Manning Road.
During the trial, when Summerhill Avenue is closed to traffic, residents who live within the Open Streets zone can still enter and exit their property as needed, escorted at a walking pace by traffic management staff.
Open Streets is being run in conjunction with the Tag On program that currently operates at Lloyd Street. Under the Tag On program, children use a fob to 'tag on' to a digital reader when they arrive at school - automatically sending and email or SMS to their parents notifying them that their child has arrived at school safely.
