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Getting to School Actively and Safely: School Traffic Management at Humberwood Downs and Holy Child

Presentation by Laura Zeglen

School Traffic Management Facilitator, Green Communities Canada

Agenda for Today’s Meeting

• Introductions of Committee Members

• Introductory Presentation: Active School Travel and the School Traffic Management Program

• Complete visioning exercise of a healthy, safe school neighbourhood

• Brainstorm ideas for the “Action Plan”

• Review Map of Suggested Routes to School

• Plan the route for the Walkabout

Do we have a volunteer to take minutes for us today?

Data from the Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS), a cross-sectional travel survey conducted every five years since 1986 in the City of Toronto and the surrounding region

Active Transportation and

Active School Travel

Healthier Children • Healthy physical

development • Mental health

Less Traffic and Pollution • Reduced exposure to

risk of collisions • Better air quality

Better Academic Performance • Increased alertness and

attentiveness in class Safer School Zones, Healthier Communities • Enhanced safety,

connectivity and quality of life for the community as a whole

The Many Benefits of Active School Travel

Degraded local air quality

• Children experience the negative impacts of air pollution at lower concentrations compared to adults

Impacts on Community

• Can alienate us from our neighbours- “everyone is in my way!” instead of “there’s that mother I always see walking with her son to school - I’m going to go say hi”

Opportunity Costs

• Children miss out on physical activity, mental stimulation and mental health benefits of active time outdoors, as well as opportunities to socialize and develop independence

The Costs of Traffic Congestion

Reduced Safety

• Too many cars can lead to driver frustration and dangerous driver behaviours

• Congestion also makes it harder for good drivers to see children, whose behaviours can be unpredictable

The Costs of Traffic Congestion

An urgent problem

• City of Toronto recognized that School Children as a group are vulnerable road users

• School Safety Zones to increase driver awareness in front of schools: Locations prioritized based on evidence-based criteria such as: • School located near high collision

cluster in the City • Size of school catchment area =

reasonable distances for students to walk or bike to school

Response of TDSB: School Traffic Management Program

Based on School Travel Planning model; takes on a holistic Approach to reducing traffic congestion:

• Provide focused support to 15 schools/year over 3 years

• Align with Vision Zero selection process to select schools based on evidence of need

• Partner with Green Communities Canada to provide support

Evaluation

Goal: Use data to design effective solutions, measure success, and demonstrate impact Examples: school travel survey, traffic observation, audit of school site, neighbourhood walkabout

saferoutestoschool.ca

Education

Goal:

1. Foster the skills, confidence, and awareness to allow students to walk and wheel to school safely;

2. Raise awareness about the benefits and importance of active school travel among the school community. Examples: Pedestrian safety education, cycling skills workshops, school route mapping, educating parents about benefits of active school travel


Encouragement

Goal: Inspiring students, parents and school staff to try active travel modes. Examples: Walk and wheel events (e.g. Winter Walk Day), walking school bus, iwalk-iwheel club.


Enforcement

Goal: Ensure traffic and parking rules are obeyed to improve safety at and around schools Examples: monitor speed, ticket traffic violations, supervise student drop-off/pick-up locations


Engineering

Goal: Creating safe and accessible school sites, neighbourhoods and routes to school. Examples: school zone signs, traffic and wayfinding signs, parking restrictions, bicycling parking, improving access routes to school property, crosswalk improvements, crossing guards


Early Evaluation Results:


Traffic Observation: - Observed after school pick-up - Major congestion observed- cars filled parking lot and also lined surrounding

streets; some cars parked at exit of driveway, obstructing sightlines for other drivers and pedestrians

- Note: Drivers did not stop or park in bus loading zone

- No Parking/No Stopping during school hours on school side of Humberwood Blvd in front of parking lot; however, cars parked here to pick up their children

- Drivers appeared respectful of one another and of those directing traffic (two individuals directing traffic- one near bus loading zone, one near visitor parking)

- Pedestrians were observed to follow sidewalks and cross with crossing guards; dangerous crossing between parked vehicles in parking lot when they had to reach cars parked on far side of driveway (i.e. along areas marked as “No Parking”)



Audit of School Site/Surrounding Neighbourhood: School site - Parking lot in good physical condition; design facilitates one-way flow of traffic

through the site - Pedestrian access to site with separated walkways from several points along

Humberwood Blvd, and also from Humber Arboretum trails - Bike parking available - No designated drop-off/pick-up area; intended use of space otherwise well-

signed Neighbourhood - School safety zone features installed - Speed of cars along Humberwood Blvd may be a safety concern; however,

drivers were observed to respect crossing guard at PXO near driveway exit

Early Evaluation Results: Humberwood Downs



According to data from Toronto Student Transportation Group, 68% of students attending this school live within 1.6km of the school.

Early Evaluation Results: Holy Child


Early Evaluation Results: 1.6km of the school is generally considered “walking distance” by the Toronto Student Transportation Group; beyond this, students qualify for bussing. There are some exceptions, including if routes are not considered walkable.

Upcoming Evaluations:


Neighbourhood Walkabout:

- To be conducted on the morning of February 21, as a committee - We will also observe the morning drop-off period at this meeting

- Toronto Transportation Services have been invited to attend

Outcomes of the School Traffic Management Program:


• School Traffic Management Plan, including detailed Action Plan with action items across the “5 Es”

• Routes to School Map for families attending this school, and variety of interactive site plan maps for schools as well as TDSB Facilities

• Building relationships with various partners as part of the School Traffic Management Committee, toward building a culture that is supportive of active school travel over the long term

Upcoming Meetings:


• January 30, 9:00am-10:30am: Orientation Meeting for School Traffic Management Committee

• February 21, 8:00am-10:00am: Neighbourhood Walkabout with Traffic Management Committee and Municipal Stakeholders

• April 25, 9:00am-10:30am: Progress meeting

• May 17, 9:00am-10:00am: Year 1 Wrap-Up (School admin and PHN only)

• 2018/2019 (Date TBD): Touching Base

Let’s Envision: The Ideal School Site


• Define your vision • What does a healthy, safe neighbourhood mean to you? (i.e. What do the streets look like?

How are people travelling? Who is using the streets?)

• What percentage of students walk, cycle or take other modes of active transportation to school?

• Consider: • Who will we need to get on board to help make this vision a reality?

• What are the key challenges/barriers?

• What are the current opportunities?

• What messaging do you think will be most effective?

Education and Encouragement:


Question: What are some ways your school is already educating around and encouraging active school travel?

Question: What are some ways that we can educate and encourage active school travel at Humberwood Downs and Holy Child?

• Targeted at Students

• Targeted at Parents/Families

• Targeted at School Staff (optional)

• Targeted at the Broader Community (optional)

Enforcement, Engineering, Evaluation:


Question: What are the major areas for increased enforcement?

Question: Are there any issues on the school property or school neighbourhood that you can think of that need improvement?

Question: Are there any other pieces of evaluation needed to strengthen our Traffic Management Plan?

Planning for Suggested Routes to School:


Planning for the Walkabout:


Next meeting:


Wednesday February 21, 8:00am-10:00am

• Meet in parking lot by bus loading zone; observe the morning drop-off period at the school; plan to arrive a few minutes early if possible

• As a group, walk around the school neighbourhood following an observation of school drop-off time, and document/photograph issues of concern

• Review the draft “Action Plan”

• Comment on updated draft of Routes to School Map

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