Meet Lei & His Girls: Pedalling Change, One Ride to School at a Time!
“ I vividly remember sitting on the back of my mum’s bike to school every morning; watching, hearing and experiencing the bustling streets as the city came alive. ”
Lei, his wife and two girls have lived in West Ryde, New South Wales for 12 years and are proud members of their community. The girls attend Ermington Public School, which is less than 2 kilometres away from their home. Lei is also the President of the school’s Parents and Citizens (P&C) committee. He joined because he’s committed to making Ryde a better place for families.
How did you find Ride2School and what inspired you to make it happen at your kids’ school?
I grew up in China during the early 90s when bicycles were the primary means of transport. I vividly remember sitting on the back of my mum’s bike to school every morning; watching, hearing and experiencing the bustling streets as the city came alive. My love of cycling continued in my teens and adulthood in Sydney. I love the sense of freedom when I’m on the bike and I wanted to share this feeling with my daughters. They have been commuting with me on my cargo bike since they were toddlers. They both started riding at a young age. We still commute to school on my bike and ride together to school every Friday.
I found out about Ride2School from Bicycle NSW’s newsletter two years ago. The girls and I decided to promote it that year because we wanted others to experience the joy of riding. Unfortunately, that initial attempt in 2023 was underwhelming. Apart from the three of us, only five other bikes turned up on the day. I was disappointed but last year, I made another effort to promote the event, this time as a member of the P&C. With more support from the broader parents group and working closely with the school to promote the event, we had an amazing turnout! The school offered merit rewards for every student who came to school on scooters or bikes. The Principal and many teachers were also standing at the school gates welcoming students. It was a fantastic turnout in the end!
Ride2School this year has been even better for our community! The Principal and teachers were super supportive, and the families here at Ermington Public School have embraced the opportunity to walk, scoot and ride to school. This year, 79% of the students participated on the day! In anticipation of the bike ‘traffic’, the school even had to designate parking spaces for all the scooters and bikes! The P&C also committed this year to planting trees along the fence line, one tree for each student riding in on the day. We hope to continue our support for Ride2School in the future.
The high level of engagement shows the desire for students and families to travel to school without driving. We have seen a graduate increase in students and teachers riding to school regularly. We even have a four-child family riding in on a cargo bike plus a trailer (all 5 people) to and from school each day!
Given this desire from our community to access more active transport options, we hope that further infrastructure spending, specifically for connected bike lanes, and traffic calming measures, along with more considered planning for school zones, will make it safer and more enticing for more families to walk and ride to school in the future. We believe these actions will provide long-term benefits to the health of our students, and the overall well-being of our community.
What’s your vision for your streets?
I would love other Ryde residents to experience our vibrant community without needing a car. Most families live within 2–5 km of schools, parks, shops, and other amenities. If walking and cycling were safer, more families could enjoy active transport, benefiting health, reducing pollution, and strengthening community connections.
What are the barriers you face?
Ermington Public School sits between two 6 lane roads; Victoria Road and Marsden Road. Unfortunately, our students and families have to endure congestion, noise and traffic dangers when travelling to and from school. We observe several near-misses with students crossing these major roads. Last year a young child was hit by a car on Marsden Road.
What have you been doing?
The school and the P&C committee have worked with both local State and Federal MPs, Ryde Council and Transport NSW to improve road safety. Writing letters, inviting them to the school. While minor improvements such as speed management have improved safety outcomes, it remains challenging for young students to walk and ride to school. Most families are concerned for their children’s safety, still use their motor vehicles for dropoffs and pickups, adding further road congestion and robbing kids of the opportunity to enjoy their journey to school and home.
We've been told that encouraging safe walking and cycling is about education and behavior change—but the real danger is our streets. The new car park that will replace the high school next door will only increase car traffic, making it even harder for kids to walk and ride safely. If we want real change, we need better street design that prioritises children’s safety over cars.
What’s next?
Some things that I can see that would help get kids riding and walking more often to school are
Make the streets around the school safer:
Reduce the dangers of cars by temporarily restricting car access near schools during drop-off and pick-up times.Some schools are leading the way with School Streets and Open Streets programs Merri-bek (VIC) and the UK - https://schoolstreets.org.uk/
🚦 Build safer crossings near the school especially around Brush Road, Victoria Road, Marsden Road, Kissing Point Road
🚲 Build more protected bike lanes and widen footpaths to the school
Provide programs to support parents and teachers
Teachers and parents have a huge influence, but teachers are already under immense pressure to deliver the school curriculum and for lots of parents the shift to walking and cycling isn’t easy and won’t happen overnight.
Governments could step up with programs that support both parents and teachers. Programs like Resilient Willoughby Public School (NSW). Their approach integrates active travel into the curriculum, teaching kids about its environmental benefits while empowering them to influence family travel choices. Route planning sessions help families find the safest way to school while identifying infrastructure gaps that need fixing.
Better Streets call to action
Better Streets is calling on the federal government to increase investment in walking and cycling to:
🚦 Build safer crossings and lower speeds near schools
🚲 Build more protected bike lanes and footpaths
🏫 Expand School Streets programs to more areas
📢 Provide more support for parents and teachers to encourage active travel
