Vision

School Travel Planning strives to make Waterloo Region a place where every child will walk or wheel for part or all of their daily school journey.

Values

Core values include safety, strong partnerships, equity, environmental sustainability, and children’s independence.

STP Framework

School Travel Planning (STP) brings communities together to create better school commutes. The two main goals of STP are to reduce traffic at schools and to encourage more families to use active transportation modes like walking, cycling, and scootering, for their school journey.

The School Travel Planning process is guided and supported by an STP facilitator who brings municipal, school, and community stakeholders together to identify and resolve issues with active school travel.

Depending on the specific school circumstances, these stakeholders may include transportation specialists, Bylaw officers, crossing guard leads, urban planners, police, parents, students, school administrators, neighbourhood associations and community centre leaders. The facilitator also coordinates activities that may include education, encouragement, engineering, and reinforcement interventions designed by the School Travel Planning committee.

The School STP Committee

The school-based STP Committee identifies the problems that stop people from choosing active transportation, and chooses or creates actions to solve those problems. Most importantly, they roll up their sleeves and implement these solutions.

Explore some solutions.

What might members expect to do?

  • Students โ€“ share the perspective of a student pedestrian and help brainstorm creative solutions.
  • Parents โ€“ know their school and the community better than any expert; and they know what interventions have a chance of helping within those cultures.
  • Neighbours – understand how residents are affected by the school commute and can help identify unique solutions.
  • School Administrators – provide knowledge of school community and access to communications.
  • Teachers – have an in-depth understanding of their students and insight on how to integrate active school travel into school activities.
  • Community Centre leads – know best practices for community outreach and are fully aware of community demographics and needs.
  • Neighbourhood Association representatives – provide knowledge of the neighbourhood and can communicate broadly across the community.
  • STSWR Facilitator – provides resources and advice, helps organize events and programs, and connects with subject matter experts to help school committees get the attention they need.

The Regional STP Steering Committee

This group meets regularly to discuss issues that affect a broad range of schools and to support school events, system-wide programs, data collection, and specific engineering and reinforcement interventions.

Steering Committee Members

  • City of Cambridge
  • City of Kitchener
  • City of Waterloo
  • Region of Waterloo
  • Waterloo Catholic District School Board
  • Waterloo Region District School Board
  • Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region

Supporting Stakeholders (consulted as needed)

  • Region of Waterloo Public Health (educational materials)
  • Region of Waterloo Transportation (lighting, roadwork, trail development, roundabout guidance, educational materials)
  • Region of Waterloo Transportation Demand Management (transit connections, cycling support)
  • Ministry of Transportation (small project funding, educational materials)
  • Municipal Trails Staff (trail development)
  • Municipal Operations Staff (winter maintenance, brush clearing)

 

 

 

This work is made possible in part through financial support from

Green Communities Canada and the Government of Ontario.