School Air Quality Audit Transport

Transcription

1 School Air Quality Audit Transport Emissions from motor vehicles are the largest single source of air pollution in South Australia, responsible for about 70% of urban air pollution. Vehicle emissions release dangerous pollutants (such as lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) into the air which can affect human health, and damage vegetation and buildings. Vehicle emissions also contribute greenhouse gases leading to climate change. Vehicle emissions can be reduced by: using sustainable transport when possible (public transport, cycling, walking, carpooling) using efficient driving habits maintaining vehicles. By undertaking a transport audit, schools can identify whether there are actions they can take to reduce air pollution from vehicles and promote more sustainable behaviours within the school community. Auditing transport in and around the school will involve: investigating transport infrastructure (main roads, public transport stops, etc) observing local traffic conditions (type and flow of traffic) surveying staff, students and visitors to identify current travel patterns to and from school re-looking into school policies. Materials needed for audit Street directory or Google map (to identify school location in relation to major roads and public transport stops/stations). BikeDirect Maps (if located in Adelaide). Maps can be obtained from < AirWatch Transport Infrastructure Audit Sheet. AirWatch Vehicle Count Audit Sheet. AirWatch Travel Pattern Survey Sheet. AirWatch Travel Pattern Survey Results Sheet. AirWatch School Policies and Activities Audit Sheet. All AirWatch materials are attached.

2 Investigating transport infrastructure Please record your results using Transport Infrastructure Audit Sheet. 1) Identify the parking areas in and around the school, and note down the number of parking spaces and how they are allocated. 2) If public transport available in your area: Go to < and click on maps in the top left-hand corner of the page. Type in your school name or address and click on search maps. Zoom into the location of your school until you can see blue buses, trains or trams showing up on the map. These icons represent a public transport stop or station. Print the map or save it to a word document by pressing shift and print screen at the same time, opening up a Word document and then clicking on paste in the file menu. Identify all public transport stops/station within walking distance to the school and list these on the audit sheet. Also find out if public transport information is available at the school for staff, student or visitor use. 3) Find out how many bicycle parking spaces are available to staff, students and visitors and list on the audit sheet. 4) Walking and cycling routes around the school can also be examined checking whether there are bicycle lanes (using BikeDirect maps), any trip hazards, and safe crossing points. Observing local traffic conditions Please record your results using table 9 on page 69 of AirWatch Primary School Workbook or Vehicle Count Audit Sheet. 1) Organise 4 or 5 students to observe traffic at the school on a given day or even over a week s period. 2) Students are to base themselves near drop-off/pick-up/parking zones and car parks within the school boundaries. 3) Students may decide to observe the traffic every hour or every couple of hours during the school day to observe the different traffic conditions at these times, and identify any issues. 4) Using the table on page 69 of the AirWatch Primary School Workbook or the Vehicle Count Audit Sheet, students then record the type and number of vehicles coming into the school. 5) Under adult supervision and remembering safety rules, students can also collect similar data standing alongside local roads nearby the school. This will allow them to find out about the type and amount of traffic in the local area. 6) Students are encouraged to answer follow-up questions on page 69 of the AirWatch Primary School Workbook or the Vehicle Count Audit Sheet to analyse the collected data and observations. 2

3 Surveying staff and students Please record your results using Travel Pattern Survey Sheet and Travel Pattern Survey Results Sheet. 1) Organise students into groups and allocate classes for them to survey on a given day (using the Travel Pattern Survey Sheet) to find out current travel patterns. 2) Organise a separate group of students to survey staff (both teaching and non-teaching). 3) In addition, if the school wants to investigate how visitors travel to and from school, the survey can also be left at the front office/reception on a given day or over a week s period for visitors to fill out. 4) Collate all these figures and calculate the percentage of staff, students and visitors who travel via car, public transport, bicycle or walk and include this on the results sheet. Investigating school policies and activities Please record your results using the School Policies and Activities Audit Sheet. 1) Find out from relevant staff members whether there are any school policies or activities that relate to transport, greenhouse gas reduction and/or increased health and wellbeing. 2) List these policies and/or activities on the audit sheet writing down whether they include information about sustainable transport and/or whether there is the potential to do so 3

4 Transport Infrastructure Audit Sheet Total number of parking spaces in school car park For staff For people with a disability For people who car-pool For visitors What other parking is available around the school? (ie. short-term parking, drop off/pick up zones) Are there public transport stops/stations in walking distance to school? You may wish to mark these on a map of the local area. Yes List: No Is public transport information available at the school for staff, students and/or visitors? Number of bicycle parks Describe the cycling conditions around the school (see BikeDirect maps or ask cyclists) Describe the walking conditions around the school (ie are there safe crossing points? Are there any potential hazards?) Yes No

5 Vehicle Count Audit Sheet Date: Time: Location: TALLY Motorbike Car 1 person Car 2 people Car more than 2 people Bus Van Truck Semi-trailer Follow-up questions: What time/s of the day was the most traffic observed? What types of vehicles were in the greatest numbers? How many vehicles only had one occupant? What is this as a percentage of all vehicles? What traffic issues were identified during the vehicle count/s?

6 Travel Pattern Survey Sheet Survey date: Class name/number (if relevant): TRANSPORT MODE IF CAR, HOW MANY OCCUPANTS? STAFF, STUDENT OR VISITOR DISTANCE TRAVELLED (TO AND FROM SCHOOL)

7 Travel Pattern Survey Results Sheet TRANSPORT MODE STAFF STUDENTS VISITORS TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF MODE Car Bus/Train/Tram Bicycle Walk Motorbike Follow-up questions: What transport mode had the highest percentage? Where improvements can be made? What sustainable transport modes could be increased?

8 School Policies and Activities Audit Sheet (transport) Policies relating to transport Policies relating to reducing greenhouse gas emissions Policies relating to health and well-being Follow-up questions: For transport-related policies, do these directly or indirectly encourage or discourage vehicle use? Is sustainable transport included in the other policies? If not, is there potential for it to be included?