Safer City

Projects

Safer School Travel

Schools generate all types of road users (pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, transit users) and concentrate them onto the surrounding street system in a manner that inevitably creates road safety conflicts and concerns.

The Safer School Travel (SST) program is a web based program that provides a step by step process to help elementary schools to identify their specific road safety issues, define priorities and create realistic solutions for addressing these issues through the development of a Road Safety Plan which encompasses strategies from three key perspectives: Engineering, Education and Enforcement.

The Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) and school administrators at each school work collaboratively with key community partners - the City, RCMP, School District, ICBC, local residents, and community associations - to develop their School Road Safety Plan. Consultation and research are key factors in the identification of the top road safety issues at each school.

The goal of Safer School Travel is to assist every elementary school in Kamloops to create their own School Road Safety Plans. A realistic and balanced approach to the planning process is key for the safety of children and the mobility of vehicles. The Safer School Travel program systematically helps the PAC sub-committee to address all issues, strategies and initiatives surrounding school travel in order to create a strong and efficient road safety plan.

Once a school has initiated the SST process, it typically takes about a year and a half to complete. Development of the Safer School Travel Road Safety Plan is broken down into seven main phases; each of these phases are then broken down further into clear and easy to implement tasks and items. Once a school gets to phase six in the process, all of the area's safety issues have been recorded and an educated recommendation process is undergone by the PAC. A stakeholder meeting is then organized and all three E's are incorporated in developing a realistic road safety plan.

This Road Safety Plan is only complete if each of the E's are addressed when looking at each of the issues. The PAC sub committee, the school, the City, the RCMP, and the School District, along with other related stakeholders within the school's catchment area, assess the plan and apply an Educational, Enforcement, and/or Engineering solution to each of the issues brought up in the area. At the same time, a Safer Routes to School Map is created by the PAC sub committee for distribution to all children who attend the school. This map helps to educate children in the preferred safe route to take while walking or biking to school and notes any safety precautions children must look for along the way, as well as assists the engineering stakeholder team in developing a proactive infrastructure improvement plan for the area.

In 2001, Heffley Creek and Ralph Bell elementary schools were selected to pilot the Safer School Travel program in Kamloops. Since then, Aberdeen, Dallas, Beattie and Parkcrest elementary schools have also gone through the Safer School Travel process, resulting in the development of unique School Road Safety Plans. A number of other elementary schools have recently come on board the Safer School Travel program.

For information on how your school can become involved with the Safer School Travel program,

Logo Contact
Colleen Lepik
Kamloops Safer City Coordinator
ph (250) 828-3605
fax (250) 828-3578
email safercity@kamloops.ca

Note: All correspondence is entered into our system, and will be dealt with in due process. Please allow several working days for a response. Thank you.