Various departments of the Ondara City Council have launched the school routes project included in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. This initiative is part of the municipal strategy to promote more sustainable, safe and healthy mobility, encouraging travel on foot and reducing dependence on motor vehicles on school routes. The project has the involvement of various departments of the Ondara City Council: Education, Youth, Tourism, Citizen Security and Urban Planning, given the transversality of this proposal for Safe School Routes under the motto "I want to walk to school".
The Councillors for Education, Rosa Ana Marí, and for Tourism, Raquel Mengual, have detailed the key aspects of this project, which covers various municipal areas. With the aim of "recovering the street and the essence of the town" and promoting the autonomy of children so that they can go to school alone, a series of routes have been designed that will allow schoolchildren to walk to their respective educational centres: CEIP Sanchis Guarner, Marjals and IES Xebic.
The planning of these routes has been based on the healthy routes proposed in the Municipal Tourism Plan, adapting them to this initiative. In this regard, a participatory workshop was held on January 21 to collect proposals and suggestions from the educational community. During the information session "I want to walk to school", municipal representatives, specialized technicians, the head of the Local Police, the management of the secondary school, as well as citizens and students, analyzed the project and reviewed the school routes identified in the plan. The objective was to validate the routes or propose improvements based on the routes that schoolchildren already regularly take on foot.
The exchange of experiences and active participation allowed suggestions to be gathered that will help adapt the routes to the real needs of students and their families. After this workshop, municipal technicians will analyse the contributions received to adjust and improve the layout of safe school routes. Subsequently, work will be done on implementing the agreed improvements, including specific signage or other actions to ensure the safety and comfort of journeys.
According to Rosa Ana Marí and Raquel Mengual, the Ondara City Council will work together and in a coordinated manner to develop these routes, with the advice of the Local Police and the implementation of necessary urban planning actions, such as widening pavements if necessary. In addition, the project will involve the participation of citizens and merchants, who can act as support points along the route, as well as volunteers at the start of the routes and appropriate signage.
Currently, the most advanced route is that of the IES Xebic, which is expected to be completed before the end of the school year. For the Marjals and Sanchis Guarner schools, several route layouts will be established.
Ondara City Council has highlighted and thanked the involvement of the educational community in this project, stressing that their participation is key to ensuring that school routes are practical, safe and adapted to the real needs of students. Therefore, a communication channel will be kept open to continue collecting proposals and encourage collaboration in future phases of the plan.
