New projects to encourage walking, cycling and scooting at Lainshaw Primary

Two interlinked projects will be launched after the Easter holidays at Lainshaw Primary School to encourage walking, cycling or scooting to and from school. 

The first is the promotion of a Park and Stride Scheme from the Rose Reilly Sports Centre to encourage parents/carers to use this car park instead of parking or dropping children off on Kilwinning Road. The existing footpath between the car park and the school will be widened and resurfaced, and double yellow lines will be put on both sides of Kilwinning Road from the junction with Standalane to the western side of the school.

The second project will be the trial of a Road Space Reallocation Scheme on Kilwinning Road. This involves using temporary kerb build-outs to create pedestrian areas next to the existing footway to provide more space to pass other people. Where installed, the built-out kerbing will reduce the carriageway to one lane, and a priority system for vehicles will be put in place where one stream of traffic gives way to the other. 

The aim is for the trial to run throughout the summer term to allow the impact of the build-outs and the use of the sports centre car park to be fully assessed. Feedback from parents/carers and local residents will be extremely important and will be used to decide if the trial should be continued, changed or stopped. During the third week of the trial, a link to an online survey will be circulated to all parents/carers, shared by local community groups and published on the Council’s School Streets web page so that people can give their views.

The projects were established after Ayrshire Roads Alliance successfully bid for Spaces for People funding from Sustrans. The funding enables temporary measures to be put in place to make social distancing easier for people who are walking and wheeling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parents and carers will already be aware of the important steps they need to take to support the safe return to school. If possible, only one adult should collect or drop off their child/children. Please continue to wear a face covering, keep 2m away from other adults, avoid gathering in groups or car sharing, watch out for any symptoms in your household, and follow Test and Trace guidance if anyone develops symptoms. 

Further information on the trials can be found at www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/lainshaw​

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