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<h2><span data-contrast="auto">Students of Hamilton can soon be assured of a safer walking and cycle route to school and university.</span></h2>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"> Hamilton City Council has announced that work on the Hamilton School Link project will begin mid-2024. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Safety improvements will begin in East Hamilton on Te Aroha Street and Ruakura Road. This section will be the first of a 12 km biking network that will link 19 schools with the city centre and university. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/latest-print-issue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Read the Term 4 edition of <em>School News</em> HERE</strong></a> </p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The new project will include a two-way bike path on one side of the street and a shared path on the other, as well as raised safety platforms on all side-roads and a speed reduction for traffic from 50 to 40 km/h. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Other improvements to be made during this project include reducing lanes, landscape planting, raised intersections and improving stormwater runoff. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_29036" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29036" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="wp-image-29036 size-full" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AdobeStock_49106120.jpeg" alt="" width="800" height="488" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-29036" class="wp-caption-text">AdobeStock by Delphotostock</figcaption></figure>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">These changes come after a 2018 report, ‘</span><a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/hccproduction-web-assets/public/Uploads/Documents/Content-Documents/Strategies-Plans-and-Projects/Projects/Eastern-Pathways/SafeWaystoSchoolHukanuiProject-1-2.PDF?utm_campaign=External%20%2F%2F%20Media%20Releases&;utm_source=hs_email&;utm_medium=email&;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8WI79fpp_ECV1ZsDb2FNKP2UW7GScQdM_myU_7zaYimREHWsdy_I8YMCAy3ZDHOtZKf5E6" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">Safe ways to School</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">’ found 55 percent of people in Hamilton would ride a bike more often if it were safer, including segregated biking facilities and safer intersections. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The report was commissioned after the council identified four schools along the route as requiring infrastructure improvements for school walking and cycling. Researchers consulted students from Hamilton Boys High School, and the parents of children at Hukanui Primary School, Fairfield Intermediate and Peachgrove Intermediate. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">It found 76 percent of parents would “always or sometimes like their children to be able to walk/bike to school”. The report concluded that <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2014/04/children-to-be-urged-to-tune-in-to-road-safety-week/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="road safety" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">road safety</a> measures was “the No1 way to encourage more parents to get children walking/cycling to school, followed by having others to walk and cycle with.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Martin Parkes, Hamilton City Council’s Public Transport and Urban Mobility Manager said that the improvements will provide increased accessibility for students and other residents in the neighbourhood, such as retirees. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“The changes will make it safer and easier to get around this part of the city and provide a much calmer street environment for residents. There is also the potential to reduce the need for so many single vehicle trips at school-drop-off time, with more children being able to get themselves to and from school using bikes and scooters,” said Parkes.â¯</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_29037" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29037" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-29037 size-full" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AdobeStock_31999035.jpeg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-29037" class="wp-caption-text">AdobeStock by MonkeyBusiness</figcaption></figure>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">It&#8217;s hoped that the project will address some of the issues highlighted in the ‘Safe Ways to School’ report, such as congestion around schools, unsafe cycling behaviour and limited transport options. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The report notes that there has been a decline in children cycling since the 1980s, with a coinciding increase in health concerns among children. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>

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