Safe & Active School Travel Program

Together with North Vancouver School District (NVSD), the City's Safe and Active School Travel Program (SASTP) encourages safe and healthy school travel habits through outreach and improvements to the transportation infrastructure around schools. The program was launched in 2014 and has expanded to include nine schools.

School Travel Planning Facilitators work directly with the administration, students, and families at each school over about 18 months to identify barriers to active travel, encourage walking and rolling, and develop maps and an action plan tailored specifically to the school.

The City provides ongoing support through a variety of initiatives and continues to explore innovative and effective ways to encourage active and safe travel to schools.

Recent Progress – Back to School

The City encourages families to travel to school in a safe and active way. Walking and rolling to school has many benefits including: improved health and well being, increased attention and alertness at school, new community connections, and decreased vehicle congestion around school zones. Learn more in our Active Kids infographic.

Need help figuring out how to get to school safely? The City has Best Routes to School Maps for each school listed below. The maps show recommended walking and rolling routes, as well as locations of crosswalks, crossing guards, and traffic signals. For families who drive, the maps include recommended “Drive to 5” locations, where you can park and walk the final block or two to school to avoid congestion.

SASTP Initiatives

Infrastructure Improvements and Action Plans

The SASTP action plans for each school identify a range of infrastructure upgrades to improve safety for children, families, and neighbours using streets around schools through improved signage, crosswalk markings, curb bulges, and sightline improvements. Every year, the City prioritizes as many of these interventions as possible to deliver through the capital plan.

curb bulge

Adult Crossing Guards

The City provides funding to the North Vancouver School District for paid adult crossing guards at all five of its public elementary schools. These trained crossing guards help students and families cross the street at key intersections before and after school, in order to keep students safe and encourage walking and rolling to school.

adult crossing guard

Cycling Education

The City has funded in-class and on-road cycling education for up to three schools per year since 2012. Providing cycling education at an early age is essential to ensuring children are cycling safely for the rest of their lives. The program has since expanded to include grade 5 and 6 students at each school on a rotating basis, with the goal that all City students participate in cycling education before they start high school.

cycling education

Bike to School Week

Bike to School Week is an annual celebration coordinated by HUB Cycling to encourage students to bike, roll or walk to school. HUB provides promotional materials, prizes and more. Learn more at cnv.org/GBBW.

bikes

Walking School Bus Pilot

A Walking School Bus (WSB) is an organized group of students who regularly walk to and from school together with the support of one or more adult leaders. Similar to a traditional school bus, the walking group picks up and drops off kids at designated stops along a set route.

Kid Commute: A Walking School Bus program was piloted at five elementary schools in the City during the 2021/2022 school year through a partnership with TransLink, the North Vancouver School District, and DASH, a local non-profit organization. Learn more on the TransLink website.

The City is working with TransLink and the North Vancouver School District to explore future Walking School Bus opportunities.

walking school bus participants

Best Routes to School Maps

The Safe and Active School Travel Program (SASTP) looks at current transportation issues (such as unsafe crossing conditions and barriers to active transportation) and opportunities (such as existing pedestrian and bicycle paths) around each school.

Each school gets a "Best Routes to School" map that shows the preferred routes for walking and rolling to school. Find the map for your school below.

sample of best route