Get on your bikes and off the road
School hopes its new shelter will solve parking problems
A Kirktonholme Primary teacher hopes a new shelter will get kids on their bike — and reduce parking problems at the school.
Nursery and principal teacher Kim Craig proudly opened the facility before the Christmas break.
The shelter was donated by Transport Scotland and Road Safety Scotland to help with the Bikeability scheme, which trains kids to know the rules of the road while cycling.
The school had initially raised some funds for the shed before the donation, and will now use that money to create other cycling facilities at the school.
Kim hopes this will now encourage youngsters to cycle to school and reduce congestion in the morning — adding that they already have around 100 kids who get on their bikes.
“Parking is a problem in the mornings at our school,” she said.
“A lot of cars are left in drop-off zones or disabled zones and that causes a lot of problems.
“We do try to monitor it but it can be difficult. That’s why cycling to school would really help.
“So many of the kids live near the school or live in the area and now we have the facilities to store their bikes.
“We have had kids store their bikes at school — particularly on Fridays with our Bikeability training – and we have had bikes all over the school.
“Now we can store them properly.
“I’m sure a lot of kids will have asked for bikes for Christmas, so hopefully we will see even more next year!”
Kim was also keen to have more pupils at the school taking part in Bikeability training so they can safely travel to school every day.
She added: “Currently we have P5, P6, and P7 pupils learning with the scheme.
“Next year, around Easter time, I would really like P2, P3 and P4 pupils to be able to start learning the course.
“Knowing how to cycle safely is so valuable.”
Parking is an issue for us every morning