Encourage safe active travel

This strategy aims to make it easy for students to get active on the journey between school and home. It balances two important school health priorities: physical activity and injury prevention. 

When it comes to schools, safe active travel involves:

• Encouraging human-powered ways of getting to and from school, like walking, biking, skateboarding, inline skating, or snowshoeing
• Collaborating across the school community to identify and address safety concerns that might limit ability to participate in active travel

A whole school approach to safe and active school travel involves coordinated action on five “Es:" engineering, education, engagement, enforcement, and evaluation.

Engineering

Use design and infrastructure to keep active travel routes to school accessible and safe. Proven engineering strategies include:

• Marked crosswalks in the area surrounding the school
• Well-lit sidewalks, pathways and trails, with designated activity spaces (e.g., marked bike lanes)
• Storage racks in visible locations for bikes, scooters, skateboards, and other wheels
• Designated drop-off zones (sometimes a short distance from school property)
• Parking restrictions in the area surrounding the school
• Speed limits

Education

Explain the benefits of active travel and build confidence to do it safely. Here are some practical actions you can take:

• Provide students and families maps of preferred routes to school, with marked road crossings and drop-off zones.
• Teach younger students how to safely cross the street, and older students to avoid distractions while they travel in active ways—devices away, earbuds out, heads up!
• Use school communication channels (like e-newsletters, websites, and social media) to connect with adults about how they can role model safe active travel.
• Support or promote local programs that build skills for active travel, like cycling skills.
• Teach students that a properly-fitting helmet can reduce the risk of injury when traveling by bike, scooter, or skateboard—try tools like the Bike Helmet YES! Test.

Engagement

Engage the whole school community to create a vibrant culture around safe active travel. Here are some Alberta examples to try:

• Student leadership programs that promote road safety, like the AMA School Safety Patrol
• Safe active travel events like Wheel Week and Winter Walk Day, or less formal activities like community walks during instructional time
• Community efforts to clean up garbage or graffiti, install outdoor student artwork, and use green spaces to make active travel routes more inviting
• Family-led or school-led efforts to get students moving, like walking buddy programs, walking school buses, or bike trains
• Family forums and other engagement techniques aimed at making active travel more inclusive, accessible, and appealing

Enforcement

Use enforcement strategies to promote traffic laws and responsible driving behavior, especially in school zones. Reach out to enforcement partners in your local area to try these ideas:

• Electronic speed monitoring devices
• Occasionally having law enforcement professionals present
• Crossing guards present at times of heavy traffic, including guards in a formal role or designated school staff, parent volunteers, or student patrollers

Evaluation

Monitor and evaluate to figure out what’s working when it comes to safe active travel, and what can be improved. For example:

• Track how students get to and from school with an online platform like BikeWalkRoll.org.
• Observe and document vehicle traffic in the school area.
• Survey students and families to better understand reasons for using active travel (or not), and to generate solutions.

Safe and active travel to and from school increases the number of steps students take in a day. It may also reduce vehicle traffic in the school area, which can reduce the risk of transportation-related injury.

You might also like these related topics:

• Engage families
• Keep it active after school
• Move more, sit less

Active school travel
Ever Active Schools

School active transportation survey: A perspective from champions
Centre for Active Living

School safety patrol resources
Alberta Motor Association

The Canadian school travel planning toolkit: Action plan inspiration guide
Green Communities Canada

Walk, bike and wheel safely in your community (infographic)
Alberta Health Services