Children's Mobility, Health and Happiness: a Canadian School Travel Planning Model

In BC, national school travel planning is being piloted in the municipalities of Vernon, Surrey and New Westminster. The cities are providing the funding for a staff STP Facilitator to work with schools. The STP project compliments TDM work and infrastructure upgrades in Vernon, school site assessment surveys in Surrey, and the Active and Safe Routes to School initiative in New Westminster.

Individual School Committees of staff, parents and students have support from a wide range of municipal and community stakeholders that include the City (engineering, bylaws and planning), Regional Public Health, School District (transportation and business development), RCMP and City Police, HASTE, and local environmental organizations to help make a difference for safe and healthy walking and bicycling.

New pilot schools for the 2010/2011 school year continue to receive the support of the Public Health Agency of Canada, within a new Canadian Partnership Against Cancer initiative called CLASP, Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention. www.hastebc.org/tools/school-travel-planning

Source: From the "Active and Safe Routes to School Manitoba Clean Air Day Poster Design Competition 2009,” Resource Conservation Manitoba