Eastbourne school gets behind Car Free Day: ‘Today shines a light on the problem’
and live on Freeview channel 276
Compton Place Road and Borough Road were closed most of yesterday (September 22) for International Car Free Day (ICFD). The day stresses the importance of alternative travel and encourages people to walk/cycle rather than getting in the car. The stretch of road by Gildredge House School was blocked off and traffic was diverted as the school’s Eco Committee got involved.
Gildredge House set up the committee four years ago and now has around 110 students involved. Members Grace Meyer and Charles Evans-Shephard volunteer to help out with any environmental tasks such as litter picking, managing the school gardens, and reconnecting with the environment around them.
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Hide AdChris Dyer is the committee lead. He said: “It just grew and grew so now we have Green Flag status and we’re the only Eco School in town.”
He said although this is an environmental issue, there’s also safety concerns with the stretch of road too – something previously covered by the Herald.
Grace said ICFD ‘builds awareness’ around a global issue. She said: “We want to make it a bigger thing every year and get more people involved.”
Charles said: “People can be lazy and drive even if they don’t live far away. Today shines a light on the problem and we want to try and get everyone involved.”
Maddie Styles is on the committee too. She said: “I really love nature and want to help with big issues. Today we’ve been out decorating the street with planet issues and things we can do to help. It’s important because it keeps children safe and helps the planet.”
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Hide AdJosh Phillips said: “Even though we’re just a few people, if we keep doing things like this we can make a big impact.”
Councillor Robin Maxted lives in the area and has worked on ICFD with Lady Antonia Lucas for three years now. He said: “The area was never designed to cope with a school of 1,200 students and the roads are a major problem. Although this is having a negative impact on drivers and we appreciate their frustration, it is a very important thing to provide safe routes for children to and from school.”
Lady Lucas said: “How do we tackle the root causes of climate change? This is the problem pupils from Gildredge House are grappling with. As a local resident to the school and someone who has been supporting the growth of the Eastbourne Walking Festival I’ve been helping pupils to make something of International Car Free Day – which takes place during the festival. This annual event provides a brilliant opportunity to discuss what can be done to reduce our dependence on a car to make a short journey of under two miles. Local residents to the school, along with Gildredge House pupils and staff, are alarmed about the amount of traffic that builds up during drop off and pick up along Borough Lane. A narrow lane – it’s dangerous for pedestrians and there are a great many people of all ages who experience cars driven without due care and attention every day. So how to reduce the speed limit, how to improve the road markings and indeed how to encourage more walking or cycling to and from school? Learning what it takes to close a road legally during a school day is a very good place to start. It’s quite a complex exercise which the local community are delighted that the staff and pupils of Gildredge House Free School have embraced: form filling to close a road; communicating with the council, parents and the local community, and working with volunteer road closure stewards drawn from the local community.”
Headteacher Craig Bull said: “We are proud to support World Car Free Day this year. The closure of the road outside our school brings together the start of the Eastbourne Walking Festival and the relaunch of the Living Streets Active Travel Map, designed by our Eco Committee students. Many of our parents have supported this environmental and safety initiative by using alternative methods of transport, such as walking or cycling to and from school. The road closure has been a chance for us to reclaim the space for a day; we have had a live band playing on the road, with students in the primary and secondary phases using the area to produce environmental quality assessments, road murals, creative writing and many other activities throughout the day. The event ended with our students demonstrating their impressive skate skills to an audience of parents in a slalom skate competition. The students’ hand-written messages of hope on the closed road for a more sustainable and safer future are a reminder of why events like today’s World Car Free Day are so important. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the event.”