The document discusses active school travel initiatives in Canada, highlighting the importance of safe routes to school and the significance of school travel planning (STP) in promoting health and safety among students. It outlines the historical context, progress made over 14 years, and various projects and studies conducted across different Canadian provinces. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for community involvement and collaborative efforts to enhance active travel options for children and improve overall wellbeing.

1. Active School Travel in Canada
Active & Safe Routes
to School
International context
Why STP?
Canadian STP model
Canadian success
Jacky Kennedy
Director, Canada Walks
info@saferoutestoschool.ca
www.saferoutestoschool.ca

2. School Travel Initiatives in Canada
14 years of growth
Recreation & Parks
Of the Yukon
CACO/YN
TBD
HASTE BC
Saskatchewan City of St. John’s
in motion
Velo Quebec
SHAPE Alberta
Green Action Recreation PEI
Centre Lung Association
Of New Brunswick
Green Communities
Canada
Ecology Action
Centre

3. School Travel Planning History
History is rooted in safety. Going back nearly 35 years to 1976…
• Danish city of Odense launch a Safe Routes to School
project in response to children killed due to traffic collisions
• Community members, teachers, politicians and civilians
worked to change dangerous streets to safe streets
• 3 years later: annual collision rate was reduced by 85%
Sustrans U.K. SRTS led by example
European programs blossomed
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States

4. International Best Practice
 Revised 2010
 Focus on:
 New Zealand
 United Kingdom
 Australia
 United States
 Not Europe - too dissimilar to Canada
 http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/schooltravel.asp

5. Why School Travel Planning?
TOTAL TRAFFIC
&
PEAK PERIOD TRAFFIC
• MORE LIVEABLE, HEALTHY, GREEN COMMUNITIES
• PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY SAFETY (EYES ON THE STREET)
• INJURY AND CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION
• INCREASED TRANSPORTATION CHOICE & $$$ SAVINGS

6. School Travel Planning History
1971:
• Policy Studies Institute: ‘One False Move…’ by Mayer Hillman, John Adams
and John Whitelegg
• 10 UK schools, ages 7 to 15, conducted
• 80% travelled actively, unaccompanied by adults
1990:
• Same 10 UK schools surveyed; compared to results from 10 German
schools
• Results indicated a drop in active school travel to less than 10%; German
children more active than UK children
2010:
• Same surveys are being conducted in 2010 in UK, Germany, Australia,
Denmark, France, Israel, Italy and Norway.
• Results to be published in 2011.

7. School Travel Planning – UK Results
Promoting Active Travel to School: Progress and Potential
NHS South West, UK Department of Health, ModeShift
www.sthc.co.uk
This October 2010 paper attempted to answer:
➔ How far can young people reasonably be expected to walk or
cycle to school?
➔ Is any progress being made to get more young people active by
promoting walking or cycling to school?
➔ What is the potential for encouraging more young people to
walk or cycle to school?
➔ What can be done to get better value for money?

8. School Travel Planning –UK Results
2007/08 data available from 9 local authorities across the South West:
•The data indicated a 3 per cent increase in the number of young people
walking to school in the last two years; an average of an additional 600
young people per local authority, using active travel on most school days.
•This ranges from an extra 7.9% in North Somerset (1060 young people) to
virtually no change in Torbay.
•Average of an additional 230,000 walking trips per local authority per year
examined.

9. Travel Planning –UK Results
What Can Be Done to Get Better Value?
• Using smarter information about travel patterns to and from schools, e.g.
the School Travel Health Check (www.sthc.co.uk).
• Identifying and supporting schools with the most potential for change.
• Recognizing and highlighting economic values associated with a shift from
car to active travel. Current estimates annual £600 return.
• Providing information for prospective parents about the benefits and
potential of active travel before decisions on school choice are made –
reduce “child miles” travelled for the school journey.
• Ensuring schools continue to feel supported to change the travel behaviour
of their young people.
• Working collaboratively to promote active travel to school enables a more
efficient approach to tackling transport and health issues.

10. Travel Planning –UK Results
Value for Money: An Economic Assessment of Investment in Walking
and Cycling
Adrian Davis, 2010
http://www.apho.org.uk/resource/item.aspx?RID=91553
•Assesses the evidence base from both peer reviewed and grey
literature both in the UK and beyond
•The volume of literature on CBA/BCR of interventions to promote
routine walking and cycling has grown in recent years and reveals
that the economic justification for investments to facilitate cycling
and walking has been undervalued or not even considered in public
policy decision-making
•Yet, almost all of the studies report economic benefits which are
highly significant, with benefit to cost ratios averaging 11.5:1

11. Travel Planning –UK Results
Cost Benefit Analysis of links to schools
DfT’s economic appraisal method applied to three Links to Schools
schemes in 2005
1) Bootle: a series of improvements to an existing route close to a
number of schools
BCR 29.3:1
2) Hartlepool: Construction of a toucan crossing close to a primary and
a secondary school, and general infrastructure improvements
BCR 32.5:1
3) Newhaven: A new shared-use path forming a link between, two
secondary schools
BCR 14.9:1

12. Travel Planning –UK Results
Value for Money: An Economic Assessment of Investment in Walking
and Cycling
Adrian Davis, 2010
•Conservative calculations: even greater economic benefits are
possible than those reported
•Such high benefit to cost ratios are rare in transport planning
•“Investment in infrastructure and to facilitate increased activity levels
amongst local communities through cycling and walking is likely to be
a ‘best buy’ for our health, the NHS at large in terms of cost savings, as
well as for the road transport sector.”

13. School Travel Planning: National Dissemination
Jan 2010 to Mar 2012
•Partners: Coalitions Linking Action and Science for
Prevention (CLASP), Canadian Partnership Against
Cancer, The Public Health Agency of Canada
•Project includes national expansion of School Travel
Planning (STP), and an added focus on sustainable
happiness, health and STP
Production of this information has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health
Canada, through the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer; and from the Public Health Agency of
Canada. The views expressed herein represent the views of the Children’s Mobility, Health and
Happiness: A Canadian School Travel Planning Model project and do not necessarily represent the views
of the project funders.

14. Child and Youth Friendly Planning
In transport and land-use planning, the needs of children and youth
should receive as much priority as the needs of people of other
ages and the requirements of business.
Progress in Canada towards achieving this goal.
www.kidsonthemove.ca

15. Results: A Canadian Study of Active School Travel Rates
and Barriers
Beesley, T., Faulkner, G., Arbour, K., Builing, R. ,
Stone, M.
Faculty of Physical Education and
Health, Faculty of Geography
University of Toronto
Faculty of Physical Education and Health, Faculty of Geography
University of Toronto
Creation and analysis
of survey instruments:
Family Survey
Classroom Survey

16. Sustainable Happiness and STP
School Travel Planning adheres to the principle of Sustainable
Happiness: happiness that contributes to individual, community
and/or global well-being and does not exploit other people, the
environment or future generations.
www.sustainablehappiness.ca

17. Metrolinx GTHA School Travel Household Attitudinal Study
Survey conducted in Fall 2009 by Harris/Decima Inc. on behalf of
Metrolinx
Objective: First overview of elementary school travel in Greater
Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)
1,001 English telephone interviews completed with parents and
guardians of children attending elementary school (i.e.
Kindergarten to Grade 8)
Collected information on:
• Child’s usual mode of travel to and from school
• Parental perceptions about school travel (e.g. safety, convenience)
• Awareness of school travel programs and infrastructure
• Interest in active and sustainable school travel modes
Final study report to be available at www.metrolinx.com/schooltravel/study

18. Metrolinx GTHA School Travel Household Attitudinal Study
Elementary school students are primarily travelling to and from
school by foot, automobile, and school bus
Nearly one tenth of students are travelling differently on
their trip to school versus home from school, with the most
common combination being driven to school and walking home
To school Home from school
50%
40%
40% 37%
34%
29%
30%
21% 21%
20%
10%
2% 2% 3% 4%
1% 1% 1% 1%
0%
Driven Carpool School Bus Public Transit Walking Cycling Other
Final study report to be available at www.metrolinx.com/schooltravel/study

19. Metrolinx GTHA School Travel Household Attitudinal Study
Driven Carpool School bus Public transit Walk Bicycle
To school 34% 2% 21% 3% 37% 1%
Overall
Home from school 29% 2% 21% 4% 40% 1%
Live within 1 km of
To school 21% 1% 76% 1%
child’s school Home from school 18% 1% 78% 1%
To school 43% 3% 19% 1% 28% 3%
Live between 1 and 2
km of child’s school Home from school 36% 3% 20% 2% 32% 3%
Live more than 2 km
To school 40% 2% 41% 8% 7%
from child’s school Home from school 36% 1% 41% 10% 9%
Final study report to be available at www.metrolinx.com/schooltravel/study

20. Findings: Metrolinx GTHA School Travel Household Attitudinal Study
Nearly 60% of overall parents say their child's school is close
enough that they could reasonably walk or bike
Over 50% of parents whose child is currently driven see the
option of their child walking or biking to school as convenient
and appealing
Over 40% of parents whose child is driven would be interested in
considering a different mode of school travel
Final study report to be available at www.metrolinx.com/schooltravel/study

21. What is School Travel Planning?
 A School Travel Plan is both a document & a process:
addresses issues of sustainability, safety & health associated
with ‘the school run’ using a community-based approach
 Considers school travel as part of overall municipal & school
board transportation policies/ plans
 Sets specific implementation targets &
measures progress
 Involves all relevant stakeholders (school
board, schools, government, NGOs, parent
groups, families, students)
 Supports local, regional & national
priorities (e.g. health, climate change)

22. The STP Process
Year 1
SET-UP
(Jun)
DATA COLLECTION
*Baseline (Sept/Oct)
*Final (May)
ACTION PLANNING THE STP
Year 2
(Oct – Dec) DOCUMENT
IMPLEMENTATION
(Oct – Jun)

23. STP Municipal Stakeholders
Relevant
School
Districts
School
Transport-
Travel
ation
Planning
Engineers
Facilitator
Public Land Use
Health Municipal Planning
STP
Steering
Committee
Local Non
Police /
Profit
Bylaw
Organiz-
Services
ations
Municipal
Mayor Councillor
s

24. STP Measures – 5 “E”s
Enforcement • “Eyes on the Street”
• Police, bylaw officers, community watch
Engineering • Involvement in school site planning & design
• Multi-modal school & neighbourhood assessments
and retrofits
• Municipal transportation engineers & planners
Education • Workshops on travel choice, safety, skills
• Curriculum-based opportunities
• Public Health, police, STP facilitators
Encouragement • Programs - Walking School Bus, Bicycle Trains,
Walk a Block, Walking Buddies
• Events - iWALK, Walk/Wheel on Wednesdays
• Public Health, teachers, STP facilitators
Evaluation • Surveys (family, students), walkabout, traffic counts
• Steering committee/school reviews

25. Data Collection
 Classroom Survey
 Family Survey
 Neighbourhood Walkabout
 Traffic Observations

26. Data Collection Tools
 Classroom Survey:
 To/From School
 Results of Classroom Survey

27. Family Survey
School Travel Planning Project:
FAMILY SURVEY – Baseline
<Insert school name>
• Includes Sustainable Happiness questions
 Q12. The way my child usually travels to school contributes to
his/her:
 physical well-being, e.g. healthy heart, bones and muscles
 emotions and overall well-being,
e.g. happiness, relationship with friends
 well-being of our community,
e.g. students get to know neighbourhood
 environmental well-being,
e.g. less pollution

28. Neighbourhood Walkabout
All stakeholders participate
Elected officials
Observe key issues as a group
Take photos
Discuss short- and long-term
actions
Assign responsibility for actions
Input to plan

29. Traffic Observation/Count
Conducted over 3-5 days
Count vehicles arriving/leaving, persons on
foot, on bicycles, other

30. STP Success Stories
Shatford Memorial, Nova Scotia:
• Town population: 400
• School population: 78 students
• Barriers: traffic speed, outdated
crosswalk, traffic violations, poor access
to safe routes
• Successes: road improvements,
crosswalk review planned, connector
trail…

31. New Westminster, British Columbia
 Municipal Committee
project lead
 Proactive approach
including mapping of
best walking routes
to each school

32. St. John’s, Newfoundland
 April 2020: Provincial advisory
committee formed
 June 2010: STP Facilitator hired
 September 2010: Pilot test at 7 St.
John’s schools begins
 Pilot project will include bicycle
 13 out of 18 elementary schools
participated in 2010 IWALK –
highest ever
 September hurricane slowed down
process!
St. Andrew’s School, St. John’s

33. Walking Aids
Adult crossing guards
Walking route signs
Curb cuts/stop lines
Reflective vests for walk leaders
Yellow route markers

34. In Closing
A walkable/bikeable school community can
be a strong indicator for health and
happiness of the students.
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/schooltravel.asp
Pswd: stptools2009