Celebrations as new road travel safety playground opened at Glenrothes school

New playground markings promoting road safety were officially opened on Thursday 21 September, at Carleton Primary School in Glenrothes. The new markings are part of a joint project involving Fife Council Roads and Transportation Services, the Safer Communities team, and funded by national walking charity Paths for All’s Smarter Choices, Smarter Places grants programme.

The new markings were put in place by Junior Road Safety Officers as part of their educational programme to encourage young pupils to put safety first and educate them on road safety. Since the markings have been implemented, classes and activities have been taking place on the new playground.

The new road safety markings will be used throughout the year as part of Cycling Scotland’s Bikeability programme, which helps train children from P5 – S2 to cycle and encourages them to practice road safety.

Councillor Altany Craik, spokesperson for Finance, Economy and Strategic Planning said:

“The new playground markings at Carleton Primary School are just one of several positive initiatives being run to promote safe and active travel. These initiatives are ensuring that our young people can learn to travel in a secure and climate-friendly fashion.

“Our Junior Road Safety Officers have been doing great work so far supporting the Bikeability programme and this additional facility will help provide a safe space to teach school children valuable lessons in road safety.”

Councillor Craig Walker, Convener of Glenrothes Area Committee said:

“It is great to see our students being educated on the importance of road safety from such a young age. The new playground markings will provide a secure space for students to learn and practice the key principles of road safety.

“As we continue to promote and implement sustainable travel around Fife, it is vital that young people in Fife are educated on how to use these routes safely.”

Graham McQueen, Manager of Paths for All’s Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme said:

“We are delighted to support the continued encouragement of young people travelling sustainably around Carleton Primary School. We all need to make changes to the way in which we travel and encouraging and supporting young people to get into good habits early will help them continue these good habits as they become adults.

“Walking and cycling are good for young people's health, wellbeing and for the wider community and environment and we should all be supporting and encouraging our children to be active”.

To find out more about Active Travel routes, visit: Active Travel | Fife Council

To find out more about Bikeability, visit: Bikeability Scotland - Homepage - Cycling Scotland

You can find out more about school travel planning at School Travel Plans in Fife | Fife Council