The City of Victoria has several programs designed to make getting to school safer and easier.
School Streets
The School Streets program creates temporary car-free zones in front of participating schools to encourage walking, riding and rolling. It also helps reduce vehicle congestion during school drop-off and pick-up times.
The City partners with schools across Victoria to create School Streets. It was first piloted in spring 2021 and is now available for all schools in the City of Victoria.
Temporary street closures are in place for 30 to 60 minutes before and after school. The City works with schools and Parent Advisory Councils and provides all necessary road closure equipment. Please contact eng@victoria.ca if you are interested in pursuing a School Street.
Arrive in Five: Walk and Roll Zones
The Arrive in Five program creates designated drop-off and meet-up zones for schools. These provide safe and accessible areas on local streets within a five-minute walk to school. Zones can be used for parents to drop off and pick up their children, or for groups to meet up and roll or walk together. The program is intended to reduce vehicle congestion and parking demand in front of schools.
Signage is displayed in the Arrive in Five zones, which are available during school morning and afternoon peak times.
Interested schools or Parent Advisory Councils can email eng@victoria.ca for more information. Please include “Arrive in Five” in the subject line.
School Crossing Guards
The School Crossing Guard program supports road safety in school zones. The City of Victoria has been funding school crossing guards at public elementary schools for more than 30 years. The City provides funding to School District 61 to support safer crossings at seven schools. The school district uses this funding to employ educational assistants as crossing guards.
Ready Step Roll
Ready Step Roll is a Capital Regional District (CRD) initiative to identify and address travel barriers to enable more students to walk, ride and roll to school. The City helps develop action plans, provides expertise on local streets, and supports evaluation and implementation of proposed solutions. Schools can apply for the program through the CRD.