Edinburgh Napier University

Network Aims

Ensuring safe and sustainable travel for school children is a critical issue, where road safety, active travel, and environmental concerns intersect. A dedicated network for researchers, policymakers, and professionals in Scotland will drive innovation, share best practices, and implement evidence-based solutions to improve school travel safety. This network will create a collaborative network that improves school travel safety across Scotland through data-driven strategies, infrastructure innovation, and community engagement. It will bridge the gaps between research, policy, and practice — advocating children travel safety, sustainably, and equity. This network will be at the forefront in advocating for intelligent investment in Scotland’s future through equitable school travel.

This will be the first such Network in Scotland, with the aim of creating critical mass in school safety, with an emphasis on public sector organizations responsible for policy and implementation. The Transport Research Institute has been at the forefront of Transportation Research in Scotland since 1996, which is evident through its track record and its large alumni network. TRI has a recognized international reputation in policy development, implementation, use of advanced modelling techniques, artificial intelligence, stakeholder engagement and advocacy, for a sustainable transportation and population health.

Events

We are planning a series of Seminars, initially at Edinburgh Napier’s Merchiston campus, and accessible online. These will commence on November 6th at 15.00 with a first presentation by Dr Caroline Brown, Director of Scotland, Ireland, and English Regions at the Royal Town Planning Institute. It will be followed at 16.00 by a SCITNES business meeting closing by 5pm. 

Library/Resources

Over time we aim to become a One-stop shop for all things addressing school-aged children’s travel. One of the immediate ambitions is o pull together the stock of existing knowledge either as links or as down-loadable documents. A particular effort will be made to at least provide links to ‘grey literature’, the reports by NGOs, consultants and others which may otherwise get lost as institutional and individual memories fade over time. We also, over time, will provide links to a selection of peer reviewed papers, either just Abstracts and sometimes fully Open Access studies. Here are some examples:

• A qualitative evaluation of the implementation, outcomes, and sustainability of 'School Streets'
• The effect of a School Street intervention on children's active travel, satisfaction with their street, and perception of road safety: a natural experimental evaluation
• Enabling Independent Active Travel for Young Scots
• Teenagers and Public Space
• Encouraging sustainable travel behaviour in children, young people and their families
• School Street Closures and Traffic Displacement Project

Funders

As we develop and grow, we will need funding funding to help host events and pay for the usual running costs associated with such activities. This is clearly an area we need to develop. At the Transport Research Institute, we will be looking for funding for projects as well.