Environment Network

ACTIVE & SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL

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Active and Safe Routes to School is a program designed to assist school communities in encouraging safe and active travel to and from school.

Environment Network would like to recognize the role of Green Communities Canada in providing tools and resources that support our Active and Safe Routes to School program. See www.saferoutestoschool.ca

If the current trends continue we may no longer have a generation that will remember walking to school. Vehicle ownership is increasing steadily, resulting in congested roads and increased air pollution from transportation. As more people opt to drive to their destination, parent’s fears of traffic dangers and personal safety increase, forcing parents to drive their children to and from school. School areas, in many communities, have become traffic nightmares and all too frequently we hear children becoming victims of collisions right outside their school.

Approximately two-thirds of Canadian children and youth are not active enough to lay a solid foundation for future health and well-being. Good health requires being surrounded by a natural environment with clean air and water. Features of the environment such as type of housing, street patterns, access to playgrounds and community safety also impact their health. For example, according to Simcoe Muskoka Health Statistics, children living in communities with higher levels of traffic-related pollution had lung infection growth of approximately 10% slower than children in lower air pollution communities. Thus, having cars idle around school entrances will have a negative effect on children’s overall lung health. In fact, in 2005 the most common condition requiring visits to hospital emergency rooms in Simcoe Muskoka was illnesses of the respiratory system (more than one quarter of visits). The ASRTS program would, in addition to promoting children to use active and safe transportation, also develop designated drop-ff zones near schools (in places such as nearby parks) in which parents could drop-off their children. This would allow parents to drive their children to the school area, while also ensuring that after children are dropped off, they were arriving to school safely, participating in active transportation, and not being affected by the air-pollution created from traffic-congested drop-off zones directly in front of schools.

The amount of physical activity a child gets is, in part, determined by their physical environment. If a child cannot bike or walk to school because there are no sidewalks to walk on safely, their level of physical activity is reduced. Research has shown that since the 1960s, fewer children make their own way to school. Most are driven by school bus or private vehicle. In fact, a 2015 survey conducted in Barrie at Emma King Public School showed that 61% of children were driven to school and 51% were picked up from school.

Further, The “Dangerous student car drop-off behaviours and child pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions: an observational study” article on Traffic Injury Prevention, conducted in January of 2016, illustrates some shocking data analysis and statistics towards the negative impacts school drop-offs can have in Toronto.

http://news.yorku.ca/files/driver-behaviour.pdf 


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/dangers-of-school-drop-off-1.3413259 


For more information on these statistics, we have attached a link below to the study as well as a link to a news clip, which talks to the authors of the study.

The Benefits of the Program

•Increased physical activity for children and youth
•A healthier lifestyle for the whole family
•Less traffic congestion around schools
•Safer and calmer streets and neighbourhoods
•Improved air quality and a cleaner environment

How does Active and Safe Routes to School work?

International Walk to School Day – takes places in early October and provides the perfect opportunity to start an ASRTS program.
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/international-walk-school-daymonth

Neighbourhood Walkabouts – Ensures the routes to school are safe. Organized by parents and staff from the school, a site tour is conducted of the school area.


Walk/Wheel Wednesday – Schools set aside once day a week to walk to school. Classes can have friendly competition to encourage walking.
  http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/walkwheel-wednesdays

Walk a Block – Encourage parents to safely park their car a few blocks from the school, and then walk the remaining blocs with their children. Traffic congestion and pollution are reduced in the immediate school area.

Walking School Buses – Volunteer parents who live on the same blocks take turns walking children to and from school.
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/walking-school-bus

Walking School Bus Q & A - For anyone who would like to participate in our Walking School Bus at Cameron Street Public School, please review this information first:
​cameron_street_walking_school_bus.pdf

No Idling at School – Encourages motorists who stop outside schools to turn off their engines while they wait.
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/idle-free-school-zone

Active & Safe Routes to School Resource Guide Downloadable Resources and School Travel Planning: 
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/getting-started%E2%80%A6

Information for Teachers: 
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/info-teachers



This program is proudly supported by
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Contact

The Environment Network
10138 Hwy 26, Collingwood ON
L9Y3Z1
705-446-0551
info@environmentnetwork.org
  • HOME
  • Who We Are
    • Mission Statement
    • Core Principals - Sustainability
    • History and Accomplishments
    • Staff and Volunteers >
      • Staff
      • Volunteer
      • Join our Team
    • Our Supporters
    • Friends Of The Environment Network
    • Shoppe
  • What We Do
    • Collingwood Youth Centre
    • Active and Safe Routes to School
    • The CREW
    • Depave
    • Girlfriends
    • Union Home Reno Rebate Program
    • Summer Day Camp
    • Share the Road
    • Past Programs >
      • Well Aware
      • EcoEnterprise
      • Ecoenergy >
        • For electrically heated home
        • For homes heated with Natural Gas
      • Ecodriver
      • Give the Gift of Green
      • RAIN
      • H.E.L.P. (Heros, Emerging Leaders, Professionals)
      • Home Weatherization Retrofit
  • News & Events
    • Event Calendar
    • Events >
      • Can-Bike Programs
    • Newsletter Archives
  • Shop the Shoppe
    • Shoppe Products
  • Day Camp
    • Three Charities Day Camp
    • Camp Registration
    • Camp Confirmation Page
    • Parent's Manual for Day Camp
    • Camp Photos
  • Contact Us
    • E-news sign up
  • Policies
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