On Thursday 27 April, Dublin Cycling Campaign will host a public meeting on the topic of Enabling Cycling to School.

Cynthia O’ Mahony, an Infrastructure Officer from An Taisce’s Safe Routes to School team, will present on the topic “Safe Routes to School - Beyond Encouragement - How to Help Children to Travel Actively to School”. Cynthia’s presentation will include:

• Background of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programme
• Discussion on the collaborative approach to developing delivery plans for FOS and routes to school
• Update on the progress to date on the programme

Niamh Ní Cholmain, Schools Mobility Outreach Officer with Dublin City Council, will provide a brief overview on the installation of School Zones across the City since 2020, including:

• the reasons for School Zones in Dublin
• design elements in a typical School Zone
• what these hope to achieve
• challenges experienced in being able to apply the School Zone treatment in an urban setting
• impacts of the School Zones for schools and communities
• what is happening now in terms of School Zones being part of the Safe Route To School Programme for Dublin City.
• opportunities which School Zones offer us.

Ellen Cullen, Dublin Cycling Campaign Chairperson, will share her experiences of cycling with children. Her talk will cover both the various types of bikes that can be used to transport children, and how to plan routes and cycle with children who are old enough to cycle their own bikes.

The event will take place in the Clayton Hotel Charlemont kicking off at 7.30pm.

You can also attend the event via Zoom by registering here.

We do strongly encourage anyone that is within cycling distance of the venue and free to pop down to attend in person because we usually have an informal social after the formalities. All are very welcome. Do please spread the word!

Cynthia O’Mahony
Cynthia is an Infrastructure Officer with the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme and has worked within the SRTS interdisciplinary team since the programme’s inception in early 2021 to develop the SRTS methodology and framework. Cynthia primarily works with schools on the east coast of the country with the objective of improving walking and cycling infrastructure in front of and around schools that have been selected for the SRTS programme. She is passionate about the societal benefits and importance of active travel and has previously held voluntary roles supporting the development of active travel in her local community. Cynthia holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Sustainability from UCD and a B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Florida.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme
The SRTS Programme is a Pathfinder Project designed to encourage as many pupils and students as possible in primary and post-primary schools to walk, cycle and scoot to school. The Programme launched in March 2021 and was open to all schools in Ireland to apply for active travel funding and delivery. SRTS is an initiative of the Department of Transport and supported by the Department of Education. It is operated by the Green-Schools Programme in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the local authorities.

Niamh Ní Cholmain
Niamh was appointed as an Outreach Officer for the School Zones project in the middle of the COVID pandemic in 2020. Her role has been to support School Principals with their School Zone applications, and to observe and evaluate the behaviours relating to the school going journey. It has also involved co-creating communication strategies with School Principals and other stakeholders about the purpose and nature of the School Zones. She has previously worked in community outreach roles on a range of local government services from Climate Action and Biodiversity to Homelessness.