Active School Travel Maps
Cars dropping students off create traffic mayhem. A potential solution is to provide schools and families with resources that provide alternative options to dropping off and picking up students directly in front of their school. Active School Travel Maps are great visual tools that helps families to choose alternate locations to park their vehicle and then either walk with their student(s) to school or have them travel independently. It is up to each parent to decide if the suggestions are suitable for their student(s) based on their student’s skills and abilities. Click below to find your schools map.
Kiss and Ride
The Kiss and Ride is a school organized program that allows parents to drop off or pick up their children in a safe place without having to park. Volunteers help children in and out of the vehicles and to or from the school / schoolyard. This program helps to reduce traffic congestion around the school.
Disclaimer: Active and Safe Routes to School does not encourage the installation of Kiss and Rides. An unexpected consequence of a Kiss and Ride is increased idling. Research has shown that idling near schools can have negative impacts on children. Therefore, we have developed these resources to try to mitigate some of the negative impacts associated with Kiss and Rides. These resources were created to help make Kiss and Rides more effective and safer.
Walking School Bus
A ‘Walking School Bus’ is group of children, accompanied by adult volunteers, who walk or wheel along an established route together, collecting more children as they go to make the trip to and from school safer and more sociable.
Wayfinding Signs
Wayfinding signs give students and parents information about how far they are from a school. These signs help build community awareness and help students plan their route to school. Check out the following resources for more information.
Curriculum Connections
School Travel Planning is primarily a parent-driven program but there are many opportunities for the involvement of students through classroom activities that link to the Ontario Curriculum. School groups are a great way to engage within the school, e.g., Environmental Clubs, Student Parliament, English as Second Language (ESL) students, After School Programs etc.