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CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT | |||
Date: |
September 21, 2004 | |||
Author: |
Don Klimchuk | |||
Phone No.: |
873-7345 | |||
RTS No.: |
04526 | |||
CC File No.: |
5560-1 | |||
Meeting Date: |
October 5, 2004 | |||
TO: |
Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services |
SUBJECT: |
International Walk to School Week - October 4th to 8th, 2004 |
INFORMATION
The General Manager of Engineering Services submits this report for INFORMATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council policies have consistently supported walking as a priority transportation mode, including City Plan (1995), Greenways Plan (1995), Vancouver Transportation Plan (1997) and the Downtown Transportation Plan (2002).
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to provide background information for a presentation on International Walk to School Week and the province's Way to Go! School Program.
BACKGROUND
Similar to many other cities and regions across the world, in Vancouver there has been a trend over the last two decades for more grade school trips being made by automobile, and fewer trips being made by active modes such as walking and cycling. In Greater Vancouver, in 1985, just under a third of trips to and from grade school were made by car. By 1994, the number of school trips made by automobile increased to 49%.
This trend often reflects parents' concerns for their child's well-being. However, increased driving creates safety, environmental and health hazards:
o dangerous traffic congestion around schools when children are using the streets,
o unhealthy automobile emissions which contribute to the deterioration of air quality and climate change, and
o automobile dependant children.
In 1999 (year of latest Trip Diary data from TransLink), grade school trips by automobile declined to 44%. This stabilizing and slight reversal of the upward trend identified in 1994, corresponds to the time that the Way to Go! School Program was introduced in BC.
International Walk to School Week (also referred to as "iwalk") encourages children and their parents across the globe to walk, cycle or use other active modes of transportation to and from school. In 2003, 29 countries participated in Walk to School Day, including over 1900 schools across Canada. For 2004, International Walk to School Day has been expanded from one day to a whole week. This gives schools the flexibility to choose a day to celebrate, or have events for every day of the week.
Local participation in International Walk to School Week is being coordinated and organized by the provincial Way to Go! School Program (http://www.waytogo.icbc.bc.ca/index.html). "Way to Go!" helps elementary schools in Vancouver be places for students and parents to learn about making safe choices when they walk, cycle or drive. The program provides elementary school communities with web-based resource kits for developing traffic safety awareness, and increasing the opportunities for students to walk, cycle, rideshare or take transit to school. Its objective is to make the school journey safer, healthier and more environmentally responsible. The Way to Go! program is sponsored by the RoadSense Team - a partnership between Autoplan Brokers and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).
The Provincial Coordinator will provide the Committee with a presentation giving further information on International Walk to School Week, and an overview of the Way to Go! School Program.
DISCUSSION
EXISTING SUPPORT
The City has a number of initiatives that support the existing Way to Go! program, in partnership with ICBC, the City's Engineering and Police departments, the Vancouver School Board, and others. These include:
Police School Education and Safety Unit
o (includes training and supervising elementary school students participating in the pedestrian crossing guard program)
Parent Parking Patrol
o Volunteers are trained to monitor driving and parking habits around their schools, and how to effectively bring poor driving and parking behaviour to the attention of other parents
School Traffic Safety Enforcement Program
o Provides traffic enforcement in school zones, including support for the "Back to School Safety Campaign" in September
School Traffic Working Group
o Group consisting of Engineering, Police and School Board staff that meets regularly to review issues, and plan school safety improvements
Capital Budgets
o Includes programs for safety improvement, such as pedestrian bulges on routes to schools, pedestrian crossing signals, crosswalk upgrading, etc.
"Traffic Safety Around Schools & Playgrounds" pamphlet
o Provides information on traffic safety regulations and tips for parents
DRAFT COMMUNITY CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN
The Cool Vancouver Task Force's Draft Community Climate Change Action Plan (April 2004) recognizes the importance of working with both elementary and high schools in Vancouver to increase the use of active transportation modes (Section 7.6. - Clean Trips to School). Staff and City consultants are currently reviewing ways that the City could further support the Way to Go! program, as well as establishing an ongoing program at the high school level. A funding application has been made to the federal government's Opportunities Envelope Fund for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which includes a request to support additional programs for active transportation at both the elementary and high school levels. Further details will be developed through the Climate Change Action Plan consultation program, and reported back on as part of the final Action Plan.
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