Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Suffolk school takes bike racks away to discourage kids from cycling

Safety concerns cited, but teachers and staff can still cycle in

A school in Ipswich has removed bike racks to discourage children from cycling to school because of safety concerns, while leaving similar facilities in place for teachers and other staff.

Deputy head teacher Martin Jarvis told the Evening Star that the decision to remove the racks and advise children against cycling there had been made at a governors’ meeting and resulted from the school’s setting close to a busy road.

Mr Jarvis told the newspaper: “We would love to encourage children to cycle to school but given our location in Woodbridge Road, between 8.30am and 9am on a weekday it's not a safe environment for a young cyclist,” adding that the situation would be reassessed once year five and six pupils had completed Bikeability training.

The paper quoted a spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council, who said that around 80% of pupils at St Helen’s walked to school, the highest proportion of any school in Suffolk, adding that children throughout the county were encouraged to travel to school using sustainable methods, if possible.

Meanwhile, John Matthissen from Suffolk Green Party condemned the decision, saying: “It absolutely runs against the grain of where we need to be going over the next decade or two. Where can you park your bike if you can't leave it securely on school grounds? It's effectively stopping it.

“We know that we have to get more children - more people - cycling and walking and this is going in the wrong direction.”

He added that if children were being discouraged from cycling to school because of nearby traffic safety issues, taking measures to improve safety should be the focus of attention, rather than stopping pupils from riding their bikes.

“We really don't want this to develop into a trend,” he added. “The council and schools have got to be big enough and bold enough to entertain that slight risk - the problem is that we have an insurance mentality that pervades areas of life and it's gone too far.”

Last month, we reported on a school in Wednesbury, West Midlands, that had introduced a similar ban due to safety concerns.

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

12 comments

Avatar
timlennon | 13 years ago
0 likes

Ooh. Just seen what an old story this is: does anyone have any follow-up?

Avatar
timlennon | 13 years ago
0 likes

It's unfair to blame the general principle of health and safety - this is rank stupidity. Since when are school governors (and I'm a governor myself) suitable people to opine on road safety issues?

And if they're satisfied that the road is suitable for non-child cycle users, why is it not suitable for children? Why not spend that money on a Bike It course, or something like that?

Avatar
Roadie | 13 years ago
0 likes

My stupid meter just went into the red. What are these people thinking? Decisions at "governors' meeting" should never venture outside the armchair bureaucracy that is par for the course.

Avatar
jobysp | 14 years ago
0 likes

I think we are on to a winner here.  13

Avatar
therevokid | 14 years ago
0 likes

so the next logical step then would be to ban schools
thereby removing the traffic caused by teachers and
other associated staff going to work - even less traffic
on the roads ... result  1

Avatar
jobysp | 14 years ago
0 likes

Actually - why not just ban kids from going to school? Seems like the next logical step as they may be bullied or walk into a door, or even worse - get hit on by a teacher.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
0 likes

Why not ban parents or teachers who live less than 2 miles away from going to school by car (unless disabled). That should cut the traffic density and make it safe enough for kids to cycle.

Avatar
MikeyF | 14 years ago
0 likes

So now kids who used to cycle will either be taken by car (increasing the number of cars on the road) or they'll walk (and face additional danger from the increased number of cars on the road). Nice one.

Avatar
dave atkinson | 14 years ago
0 likes

i used to live in ipswich. woodbridge road is hardly the north circular.

Avatar
jobysp | 14 years ago
0 likes

Would be interesting to know how many of these children have been injured by said motorists between 8:30am and 9:00am whilst on their bikes.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
0 likes

Yet another case of health and safety stupidity.

Avatar
Simon E replied to OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
0 likes
OldRidgeback wrote:

Yet another case of health and safety stupidity.

My thoughts too. The tyranny of the car over the lives of normal human beings continues  2

Latest Comments