School Streets
The School Streets program creates safer school zones and encourages active transportation
The School Streets program creates temporary car-free environments in front of schools to improve safety for people walking, cycling and rolling to and from school. Restricting non-local vehicle traffic on the School Street before and after school encourages active modes of transportation and reduces vehicle congestion during school drop-off- and pick-up times.
The City partners with participating schools across Victoria to create School Streets and was first piloted in spring 2021 with George Jay Elementary and Sir James Douglas Elementary.
"The School Street project provided a safer, calmer, and quieter environment for school drop-offs and pick-ups - not only for students and caregivers, but also for the residents of the street. The program provided our school community with a great opportunity to talk about active transport, and to be more active as a school in a fun way. " -George Jay PAC member
The school community and neighbourhood residents are notified in advance of all upcoming School Street pilots and are encouraged to reduce their vehicle use during this time. Temporary closure of the street to vehicle traffic occurs between 30-60 minutes at the start and end of each school day.
The City monitors the delivery of the School Street program and encourages feedback to ensure the program is safe, accesible and meets active transportation goals. The City works direclty with schools and PACs to provide traffic control materials, plans, signage, and permits to participating schools.
For more information on the School Streets program, please refer to the School Streets Guidebook.
Interested in delivering a School Street pilot program? Contact eng@victoria.ca with the subject "School Streets".
