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The aim of the Walk to School campaign is not simply to encourage walking and cycling, but above all to find out how children themselves perceive their journey to school, what prevents them from using active forms of transport, and how traffic around schools affects both safety and air quality. Results from participating schools show that the journey to school is much more than getting from point A to point B. It is a shared space where children, parents, cars, public transport, pedestrians and cyclists interact – and where the quality of the air children breathe at the start of their school day is also determined.

Children Want to Walk and Cycle, but Reality Is Often Different

One of the key findings of the questionnaire surveys is that children's preferred mode of transport does not necessarily correspond to how they actually travel to school. At Ladislav Novomeský Primary School in Lučenec, for example, 43% of respondents said they would prefer to walk, 24.7% to cycle and 22.5% to travel by car. The results therefore indicate considerable potential for active mobility. Similarly, children at other schools expressed an interest in cycling and walking, although their everyday choices were influenced mainly by the distance from home, the quality and availability of infrastructure, traffic conditions and their sense of safety.

At Mládežnícka Primary School in Krásno nad Kysucou, more than half of respondents regularly used one of the active forms of transport – walking, cycling or scootering. At the same time, approximately one-third of pupils said they did not feel safe on their way to school. A similar picture emerged at Ján Amos Komenský Primary School in Púchov, where approximately 40% of pupils said they walked to school. Around half of the children travelled to school independently.

Another interesting finding is the difference between children's and parents' perceptions, particularly regarding independence and safety. Children want to travel to school independently, while parents worry about their safety. This shows that there is potential for change. The question is whether we can create the right conditions to make it possible.

When Arriving at School Becomes a Traffic Problem

The area around a school becomes particularly busy in the morning. Large numbers of people and vehicles converge within a short period of time. Parents drop off their children, buses stop at bus stops, children get out of cars, pedestrians cross roads and cyclists make their way to school. When vehicles stop directly in front of schools, park on pavements or block pedestrian crossings, this creates more than just a safety hazard. It also becomes an air quality problem.

For this reason, the Walk to School activity combined traffic mapping with indicative particulate matter measurements at several schools.

At Ladislav Novomeský Primary School in Lučenec, traffic queues formed in front of the school during the morning rush hour, with vehicles frequently left idling. During one observation, 84% of vehicles that stopped outside the school were found to have their engines running while stationary. The highest particulate matter concentrations were measured precisely during the morning rush hour.

A similar situation was identified at Golianova Primary School in Banská Bystrica. In the morning, queues formed outside the school and vehicles stopped right next to pedestrian crossings, often with their engines running. Such behaviour contributes to the cumulative build-up of pollutants in an area where large numbers of children are moving around at the same time. The importance of this location from an air quality perspective is also underlined by the nearby automatic monitoring station on Štefánikovo nábrežie, classified as a traffic monitoring station, where elevated pollution levels and smog episodes have been recorded over the long term.

At Trebišovská 10 Primary School in Košice, this connection could be observed even more directly. During the morning rush hour, traffic counts and indicative particulate matter measurements were carried out at three locations. At the corner of Rožňavská Street, at least 150 and up to 164 vehicles were recorded stopping briefly to drop off pupils. This location also showed higher particulate matter concentrations. On the busy Popradská Street, between 630 and 740 vehicles passed during the morning rush hour, approximately 20 of which stopped to drop off pupils.

It is not just the number of vehicles that matters. The way vehicles move and stop around schools also plays an important role. The same pattern can be repeated every morning: more cars mean more movement, stopping, accelerating and idling in an area where children are also walking.

The Safety Paradox

Safety is one of the most common reasons why parents choose to drive their children to school. If they feel that the journey is unsafe, they would rather take their child by car. This decision is understandable. From an individual parent's perspective, a car may represent protection. However, from the perspective of the entire school community, a paradox can arise. The more children arrive by car, the more vehicles accumulate in the immediate vicinity of the school. And the more vehicles there are in this area, the harder it becomes to provide a clear and calm environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

At Pribinova Primary School in Zlaté Moravce, this connection was expressed very directly: safety is one of the reasons parents drive their children to school, but at the same time, car traffic contributes to congestion around the school.

Schools in Banská Bystrica, Košice and Púchov reported similar experiences. In Púchov, children, parents and teachers highlighted speeding and inconsiderate driving, a poorly visible intersection in front of the school, problematic parking and inadequate facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. Suggested solutions included traffic lights, lower speed limits, additional pedestrian crossings and cycling infrastructure.

Safety, mobility and air quality therefore cannot be addressed separately.

What Children See When They Look at Their Journey to School

The school activities included not only questionnaire surveys but also field mapping and the creation of perception maps. Children were given the opportunity to walk their usual routes and mark places they considered safe, problematic or unpleasant. The result was more than just a list of shortcomings. It provided a picture of the school environment from the perspective of those who use it every day.

At Sídlisko 2 Primary School in Vranov nad Topľou, pupils identified 55 problematic points and 14 positive ones. The issues mainly concerned the condition of pavements, cycling infrastructure, pedestrian crossings and traffic signs.

At J. A. Komenský Primary School in Sereď, pupils identified 53 problematic locations around the school, while pupils in Lučenec identified 58 risk points. At Mládežnícka Primary School in Krásno nad Kysucou, 86 observations were recorded during field mapping. The largest group concerned problems with pavements, followed by missing pedestrian crossings, vehicles parked on pavements, road conditions and traffic signs. The most problematic location was identified as the Mládežnícka – 1. mája intersection, where pupils highlighted heavy traffic, excessive speeds and poor visibility.

Golianova Primary School in Banská Bystrica also demonstrated that children can identify very specific problems along their everyday routes. The mapping focused on pavements, pedestrian crossings, roads, intersections, parking, public spaces and cycling infrastructure. The results subsequently formed the basis for a joint perception map highlighting critical points and proposed measures.

In Košice, pupils drew attention mainly to damaged pavements, limited visibility at intersections, incorrectly parked vehicles and neglected public spaces. These findings were incorporated into a perception map documenting pupils' experiences of their everyday journeys to school. Children are therefore able to identify very precisely where traffic, safety and environmental problems intersect.

The Journey to School and Air Quality: An Invisible Problem

We can see a safety hazard. We can see a car stopped on a pedestrian crossing. We can see a damaged pavement. But we cannot see polluted air. This is precisely why the connection between traffic and air quality around schools is easy to overlook.

Indicative measurements carried out as part of the activity showed that particulate matter concentrations can fluctuate and increase temporarily during the morning rush hour.

In Krásno nad Kysucou, short-term fluctuations in PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ concentrations were recorded, with the most pronounced changes observed in PM₁₀. In Lučenec, the highest concentrations occurred during the morning rush hour.

Košice provided another important perspective: the opportunity to combine air quality measurements directly with traffic counts. Pupils helped operate the measuring instruments, record data and count vehicles. The activity was therefore not merely an observation of a problem, but also a practical environmental and civic learning experience.

These measurements should not be interpreted as a long-term assessment of air quality. Their value is primarily illustrative and local. Nevertheless, they demonstrate an important point: traffic conditions immediately outside schools are also relevant in terms of the pollutants children breathe on their way to school.

Supporting walking and cycling is therefore about more than mobility. It is also a measure that can reduce the number of vehicles in the immediate vicinity of schools and create a healthier environment for children.

Safety Is Also About Trust

For a child to be able to walk to school, it is not enough simply to tell them to be careful. We need to create an environment that their parents can trust, too.

Trust develops when children know their route, know where they can cross the road safely, where drivers respect their presence and where pavements allow them to move freely. A high-quality public space also helps – with greenery, cleanliness, sufficient space for pedestrians, bicycle racks and pleasant places to rest.

The results of the activity also showed that solutions do not always have to be extensive or expensive. In Banská Bystrica, for example, improvements were already made to some critical locations during the activity, including pavement reconstruction and lowering kerbs at pedestrian crossings.

Other proposed measures included improving the visibility of pedestrian crossings, adding missing crossings, upgrading cycling infrastructure and street lighting, and creating designated kiss-and-ride zones.

In Banská Bystrica, the potential use of existing stopping areas and a bus parking area as a kiss-and-ride zone or parent parking area emerged as a possible solution. Such an arrangement could help move some car traffic further away from the school entrance and reduce congestion in the immediate surroundings.

This is another reason why the results of perception mapping are important. Children did not simply identify what was wrong. They were also able to point out what works well and what they would like to see more often in their surroundings.

Joint identification of risk locations and development of proposed solutions (Ladislav Novomeský Primary School, Lučenec).

The School Mobility Plan at J. A. Komenský Primary School in Sereď aims to reduce the number of cars in the immediate vicinity of the school, improve children's safety and encourage active travel. Proposed measures include modifications to pedestrian crossings, the installation of additional traffic-calming features and relocating staff parking away from the main entrance.

Schools Can Be the Starting Point for Change

The Walk to School activity demonstrates that children can be more than just participants. They can become active observers and co-creators of change in their surroundings.

Experiences from participating schools show that combining questionnaire surveys, field mapping, perception maps, traffic counts and indicative measurements provides a more comprehensive picture of the conditions children face when travelling to school. It also creates opportunities for communication between schools, parents, children, local authorities, the police and other stakeholders.

Examples from Púchov, Sereď, Banská Bystrica and other towns confirm that the findings do not have to remain merely part of a school activity. Findings and perception maps were presented to city representatives by pupils and teachers, and local authorities have expressed interest in applying a similar approach at other schools. These outputs can also serve as valuable input for school mobility plans and transport feasibility studies.

The result, therefore, does not have to be simply more children walking to school. It can also mean fewer cars outside schools, less traffic chaos, safer pavements and pedestrian crossings, more pleasant public spaces and cleaner air for children to breathe every morning.

And that is precisely the importance of the Walk to School activity. A safe and clean journey to school is not just a way of getting to school. It is part of the environment in which children grow up.

More information about the Walk to School activity and its results is available at:

https://dnesdycham.populair.sk/do-skoly-po-vlastnych