Make the switch!
Enhance road safety by walking or wheeling to school instead of driving
It’s easy to hop in the car to take your kids to school, but there are so many other ways to get to class, like walking, wheeling with an assistive mobility device, cycling, scootering, rollerblading, skateboarding – the list goes on! In addition to adopting a healthier lifestyle, making the switch can also help improve road safety in our community. Are you up for the challenge?
As part of the City’s MoveSmart Mobility Management Strategy, the Active School Travel pilot program promotes any form of human-powered travel to get to and from school. In collaboration with York Region, York Region Catholic District School Board, York Region District School Board, York Region Public Health and York Regional Police, this program is being piloted in eight school areas across the city. One of these schools is St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School, where students were joined by Mayor Steven Del Duca this morning to walk to class.
Mayor Del Duca led the walk from Humber Valley Parkette, which included students and staff from the City, York Region Catholic School Board, York Region District School Board and Parachute Canada.
To promote Active School Travel, St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School secured a $10,000 grant from Parachute Canada – a national charity dedicated to injury prevention.
Active School Travel is designed to:
- build lifelong habits of active and independent mobility.
- educate and raise awareness among the community about the benefits of active and sustainable travel.
- encourage students to reap the benefits of Active School Travel while having fun.
- enhance road safety and help manage vehicle congestion around school zones.
- improve air quality in school zones by reducing pollution and greenhouse gases made by vehicles.
- improve students’ physical and mental health, social development and academic performance.
- raise awareness of road safety being a shared value and responsibility.
Safer School Zone Plan
The City continues to prioritize road safety and active and sustainable travel initiatives by transforming Vaughan’s transportation system. One way the City is doing this is by developing a Safer School Zone Plan which will provide recommendation for school zone infrastructure improvements to increase road safety for students. Policies, guidelines, and standards will be established to address issues such as parking, speeding, traffic circulation, pedestrian and cycling access, and other issues impacting students – yet another initiative in the City’s ongoing road safety efforts.
To learn more about the Active School Travel pilot program, visit vaughan.ca/ActiveSchoolTravel.
QUOTE
“I had a great time this morning joining students from St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School on their walk to school. I had the opportunity to talk to them about the many benefits of adopting active transportation, which is a conversation I’ve had a lot as the father of two daughters. The City is undertaking a pilot program to support active school travel by implementing traffic calming measures such as radar message boards, ladder crosswalks, improved school zone pavement markings and flexi posts. Making kids safer on their way to school and supporting a healthier lifestyle for young people are just a few of this amazing program’s many benefits.”
- Mayor Steven Del Duca
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