New footpath encouraging more kids to walk to school

Walking or riding a bike to school is now easier and safer for students in Beaconsfield thanks to a new footpath installed by the City of Fremantle.

The footpath along Duffield Avenue, near Winterfold Primary School and Christ the King School, is part of a broader program by the City to improve footpaths and pedestrian accessibility.

Winterfold Primary School teacher and Your Move champion Julia Calvert said good footpaths were essential to encouraging students to walk or ride a bike to school.

“Your Move is a program run by the Department of Transport that is about encouraging fume-friendly travel and getting kids to walk and ride to school more,” Miss Calvert said.

“A lot of parents don’t let their kids walk or ride to school because there’s too much traffic, but if they let the kids walk and ride there’d be less traffic, so it’s one of those vicious circles.

“Apart from the health benefits of kids getting fitter and healthier by walking or riding it also activates their mind in the morning so they can get to school ready to sit and concentrate, plus it’s a social thing where they can meet up and walk with a friend.

“Having good footpaths like this one is really important because it gives the kids somewhere safe to walk and ride, rather than on the side of the road, and hopefully it will encourage more of them to do it.”

Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the footpath program was part of the City’s renewed focus on improving our suburban infrastructure and community facilities.

“In our latest budget the council wanted to concentrate on the things that our community use every day and that make Fremantle such a great place to live ­– things like parks, playgrounds, sporting facilities and footpaths,” Mayor Fitzhardinge said.

“Duffield Avenue was one of the few residential streets in Fremantle that didn’t have a footpath.

“When I was a representative for Beaconsfield Ward I was concerned about the school kids, as well as the elderly residents in the area, having to share the street with the cars and other traffic.

“As a former Beaconsfield Ward councillor, and thanks to the advocacy of the current ward councillors, I’m really glad that we’ve been able to install this footpath and make it safer for our kids to get to school.”

In addition to the Duffield Avenue footpath, the City of Fremantle has also recently constructed a new footpath on Maxwell Street along the boundary of Beaconsfield Primary School.

The City has also increased staffing in the engineering works teams, doubling its capacity for footpath maintenance across Fremantle.  

Early next year construction will start on a joint project between the City of Fremantle and Fremantle Ports to improve wayfinding and pedestrian connectivity between Fishing Boat Harbour and Victoria Quay.

The timber-decked footpath along Hampton Road at the Lefroy Road intersection is also scheduled for renewal in the first half of next year.

For more information about footpath renewals and infrastructure upgrades as part of the 2022-23 budget check out our handy online project map.