Pedal power and good old fashioned walking are being put forward as the best ways of getting to school during a meeting to improve the safety of York's children.

Pupils, parents and carers from Our Lady's RC Primary School, Hob Moor Junior School and Hob Moor Infants school, are working in consultation with Sustrans, the cycle path charity, as part of a safer routes to school study funded by City of York Council.

Between 11am and 3pm on Saturday they will be offered the chance to discuss safety issues at a meeting at Our Lady's RC Primary School, Windsor Garth, York.

They will explore ways of encouraging more children to walk and cycle to school and residents around the three schools will also contribute to the process by commenting on transport issues which affect them.

Pupils are being asked to map their route to school and identify danger-spots.

The event promises to be colourful as well as constructive as the children are being encouraged to produce illustrations of their journeys.

The consultants will use large-scale maps and simple question sheets similar to the planning for real exercise staged at Park Grove School during consultation on the former ABB site.

Paul Osborne, of Sustrans, said: "The work we are doing with the schools will make pupils and parents more aware of the benefits of walking and cycling to school, and will highlight ways in which the council and the schools could help reduce the need for car travel to schools.

"This is in line with the Government's intention to ask schools to produce travel plans setting out their strategy on this issue."

For further information call Paul Osborne on 01904 651506 or Phil Bixby on 01904 625300.

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