Children walk more with free parking for parents
A new Park ‘n’ Stride initiative in the city which encourages schoolchildren to walk more is the first of its kind to be launched in the country – it offers free parking for parents at designated carparks.
The scheme is driven by Galway City Council and though it was pilot tested in May just before the end of the school year finished for the summer break, it kicked off properly at the start of this school term.
Not only is it aimed at introducing more exercise into the schoolchildren’s daily lives but should also reduce traffic congestion.
It involves the participation of eleven schools in the city liaising with City Council who are offering free parking in 16 designated public car parks for up to one hour. In other words, parents can park at the nearest car park to their children’s school and walk with them the rest of the way.
The Council’s Galway Transportation Unit collaborated with the schools and local businesses to make this possible. Already a number of parents and their children have embraced the idea full-on and if successful, could be replicated in other counties throughout Ireland.
Information leaflets were circulated through schools and it is expected that many of the city’s 4,500 primary schoolchildren will take part.
Parents who register to take part in the scheme have been issued with a sticker from their school and once this is displayed on the front windshield of their car, they will be exempt from parking fees in a number of participating carparks around the city.
"It was a great idea to start the Park & Stride initiative as trying to find parking close to the schools can be quite stressful. With the Park & Stride sticker on the car and going to the convenient designated areas, dropping off and collecting the kids has been so much easier,” said Joy Fahy, whose children attend Scoil an Linbh Íosa.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.