School roads

A quick stop and dropping the child off at school. Many families see this as a safe solution. When school starts every day, this often leads to dangerous situations for all children. Time pressure, congested roads, limited stopping options. It can quickly become confusing for children and adults. In order to increase safety on the way to school, the city of Aachen tested school roads during the European Mobility Week. Experiences and feedback were collected and the results evaluated.

Background

Early in the morning, cars bringing children to and from school often create dangerous situations. The large number of cars that rush in front of schools almost simultaneously under time pressure and sometimes make reckless U-turns pose a massive risk to children and young people.

The City of Aachen's offer to let children who are brought to school by car out of the car at the designated parents' stops in the vicinity of the school is still underused. From there, the children should walk the remaining distance to school on their own. Experience shows that children often enjoy these last few meters of independent mobility. They use these routes to talk to their classmates.
Parents who use these stops help to reduce pick-up and drop-off traffic in front of schools and increase road safety for everyone.

The state of NRW has made it clear: Local authorities can and should designate so-called "school streets". With the help of school streets, car traffic in the vicinity of schools is reduced and the use of parent stops is made even more attractive. The city of Aachen would also like to use the "school street" instrument for the benefit of children and young people.

In concrete terms, "school road" means that the road in front of the school is closed to traffic for 45 minutes around the start of lessons, for example. This makes the route to school safer for everyone. Residents can continue to drive out of the street. The road remains open to all non-motorized traffic.

The concept was tested at the following four schools:

• GGS Am Höfling
• GGS Brühlstraße
• KGS Hanbruch
• KGS Höfchensweg

Cycling to Aachen's schools

The municipal campaign offers schools the opportunity to practise cycling with small groups of pupils. The training includes the following points:

• The most important rules are discussed (right before left, blind spot),
• Driving technique exercises in the schoolyard
• Cycling to and from school.

Cycling tips for starting school

Children who are active are more balanced and concentrated than those who are sedentary. Exercise not only stimulates the mind, it is also important for physical coordination. It also strengthens children's self-confidence and social behavior when they ride together with other children.

Cycling safely

The shortest route to school is not always the best. Parents can choose a route to school with as little traffic as possible, with few junctions, driveways and crossings, and practise this with their children. Children up to the age of 8 must use the sidewalk. From the age of 10, children must use the road or cycle path. Parents decide how their child gets to school.

Parents should ride the route with their child several times in the morning during rush hour to check whether they are up to the challenge. They should pay particular attention to keeping a sufficient distance from parked vehicles (approx. 1 m), anticipate misbehavior by turning vehicles at junctions when driving straight ahead and only approach blind driveways when ready to brake. In this way, they eliminate key accident risks. A properly fitted helmet protects against serious head injuries in the event of a fall.

All pupils are covered by statutory accident insurance when traveling to and from school. This insurance cover exists regardless of age and means of transportation - even if children travel by bike.

Find the best cycle route

To find such a route, the NRW cycle route planner can be helpful. There you can enter the start, destination and also intermediate points, select direct routes or use the cycle network. When you are practicing, you can use the NRW route planner to find the best cycle routes in the city. The NRW cycle route planner is also available as an app.

The City of Aachen has compiled the following for every school in Aachen:

a) Accessibility in 10 minutes

A link to the BikeCitizens application, which can be used to show which roads can be reached within 10 minutes of a school. Each school can customize the default settings as desired.

b) Route proposal from three good providers

The routing program opens and the destination address of the school is already entered. All you have to do is enter your home address and you will receive a suggested route. The providers differ in their routing algorithms and individual setting options. The NRW cycle route planner offers the best customization options. You can find your school in the download area by selecting the relevant pdf and clicking on the links there.

Further topics