In then upcoming weeks/ months, Willoughby Council will be working with 3 students in the 4^th year of their planning course to conduct an analysis of the challenges and opportunities for primary students travelling actively (walking, cycling or scootering) to school, as an alternative to relying on the car.

They have selected two schools for the students to focus on - Artarmon PS and Castle Cove PS - as council is proposing to construct new shared walking and cycling paths in the vicinity of these schools. In the case of Artarmon PS, this will be the proposed Chatswood to St Leonards shared path which was on public exhibition recently. Construction of new walking and cycling infrastructure is a key objective in Council's recently adopted Integrated Transport Strategy. It is hoped that school communities, in particular, will benefit from the provision of new active travel infrastructure and other facilities to reduce reliance on car travel. 

What this means for students at Artarmon:

The study will not involve any direct interaction with the school or the students, but requires the University team to analyse the built environment of the catchment and provide a report to the Council Planning Team. As such, they will not be located in any particular position outside the school but will be moving through the area, as it is the streets, footpaths and public domain in the vicinity of each school which they will be studying, not the activities of the school students.

The students involved in the study might be seen around the area and wil be supervised by their senior University lecturer.