New art trail opens on the road to safer school runs
A colourful new public art trail has opened around Ranelagh Primary School, aiming to get more children walking, cycling and scooting to lessons while teaching them road safety along the way.
Why it matters: The colourful installation forms part of a wider scheme to encourage more pupils to walk, cycle or scoot to school, rather than travel by car, while helping them learn road safety skills along the way.
The details: Ranelagh Primary School worked with public art specialists Art Streets and Suffolk County Council Highways to install artwork along three key routes to the school – Hadleigh Road, London Road and Ranelagh Road.
Children are invited to hop, jump and bounce along colourful markings on their route to school, while road-safety graphics reading "Look", "Stop" and "Listen" have been painted at a junction to prompt safe road-crossing habits. The trail leads to a painted "red carpet" at the school's main entrance.
What they're saying: Councillor Christopher Hudson, Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for transport and highways, said: "This is a wonderfully creative way of encouraging youngsters to think about road safety and healthier ways of getting about.
"Encouraging youngsters to walk or cycle to school is good for them and also supports better physical and mental health, helps reduce congestion and improves air quality, which is good news for all of us."
Ranelagh Primary School headteacher Olga Hopper said the project had "encouraged conversations about active travel, road safety and caring for the spaces around us."
The bigger picture: The artwork was designed using existing data on travel behaviour to and from the school, and the council will now monitor whether it succeeds in increasing walking, cycling and scooting rates. Findings could help shape similar projects elsewhere in the UK.
The bottom line: The scheme forms part of a wider push by Suffolk County Council to reduce traffic and improve road safety around Ipswich schools.
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