Cornwall County Council School Travel Strategy

Cornwall County Council School Travel Strategy

• 1 Foreword

• 1 Scope of this Strategy
• 2 Introduction
• 3 Specific Objectives of this Strategy
• 4 Background
  • 4.1 Safer Routes to School in Cornwall
  • 4.2 Introduction of the Travelling to School Initiative in Cornwall
• 5 The Future of School Travel Plans in Cornwall
• 6 Implementing a Successful Strategy
• 7 Examples of Good Practice
• 8 Targets

• 1 Appendices

4.2 Introduction of the Travelling to School Initiative in Cornwall

Initially, School Travel Plans (STPs) in Cornwall were largely developed as a follow on from schools that had participated in a Safer Routes to School project (SRTS). They were the mechanism for ensuring that schools capitalised on their improved infrastructure measures and then went on to implement other projects. The introduction of the Travelling to School Initiative (TTSI) in March 2004 forced a rethink to this approach for two reasons:   

• TTSI demanded a strategy that would see all schools implement a STP by 2010.

• TTSI reinforced the emphasis on outcomes – in terms of modal shift – being the prime measure of success.

The systematic approach adopted by Cornwall (that of developing STPs at schools that had already participated in SRTS) could not therefore continue, since the SRTS programme was rolling out at 15 schools a year, and TTSI objectives required a trajectory of around 40. More importantly, perhaps, whilst Cornwall could be proud of its achievements to date in implementing infrastructural improvements around schools, work in places like Penryn had shown that ‘soft measures’ by themselves can have a significant impact on modal shift without any (or very little) accompanying physical measures. In this case, Penryn Juniors, near Falmouth had seen a 21% (58% - 79%) increase in non car mode of travel over a 4 year period (2001 – 2005. There was also a strong requirement to encourage even more ownership and involvement on the schools' part.

TTSI, through the criteria it has set down and the extra resource it  provided, allowed the forward strategy to be reassessed with a greater emphasis on more school soft measures and more school ownership.

Coincidentally, this reappraisal was given additional impetus through Cornwall’s involvement in the Health and Safety Executives' Schools Scheme^[1] piloted in the south west. Experience gained through this also helped shape CCC's new forward strategy. 

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