Way to Go! School Program Gives Students a Breath of Fresh Air
Wheel Life column - 23 January, 1999
by Todd Litman and Suzanne Kort - Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Our mild climate makes Victoria one of Canada's most bikeable and walkable cities. Yet, like the rest of the country, more children get to school by car then ever before. While just one or two generations ago most children traveled to school under their own power, the majority are now driven.

The result is children who get less exercise and fewer opportunities to explore their neighborhoods, traffic congestion, parking and pollution problems around schools, and parents with less flexibility in their daily schedules. It also establishes a habit of automobile dependency at an early age that can be difficult to break.

The Way to Go! program is intended to help change these patterns. It encourages parents to use alternatives to driving their children to school every day. The program's manual and resource kits offer parents, teachers and administers a wide range of strategies and tools.

The program usually begins with a student and parent survey to determine how kids get to and from school, and to identify barriers and opportunities for making changes. The school then determines the best strategies to help their families bike, walk, carpool and use transit.

Tactics and incentives include bike parades, walking school buses (parents take turns escorting groups of children to and from school), mapping safe routes and treasure hunts. Creating a safe walk/bike zone around the school encourages families to park outside the zone and walk the rest of the way. Students can be matched with biking buddies, or organized into "biking buses" lead by a parent.

"I want to stress that Way to Go! is not anti-car," explained Shelly Sabo, the program's coordinator for South Vancouver Island. "We advocate more appropriate use of our cars."

Ms. Sabo observed that many parents choose to drive because they believe it is safest for their children. The result, though, is increased congestion and higher emissions around schools precisely when the streets are most full of children. Teachers report that kids who cycle or walk to school tend to be more alert and have more to describe when asked what they saw on the way.

While bicycling works for many schools, it's not for everyone. "Every school has a different culture," said Project Coordinator, Bernadette Kowey from Vancouver. "The traffic environment is so intense around some schools that it is difficult for kids to find a safe bicycle route." Ms. Kowey said she only promotes cycling for students who take Bike Smarts, a training program that teaches proper bicycling behavior. Helmets, she said, are an absolute must.

In the Lower Mainland, six schools participated in a pilot project last year and are still at it, while many more schools have started. In Delta, more than 115 of Hawthorne Elementary School's 600 students now cycle to school, and less than one in four arrive by car.

Cloverdale and South Park Elementary Schools are the first Island schools to take part since the program was introduced here in December. Cloverdale initiated two walking school buses. Children who walk become eligible for a raffle of donated prizes. South Park is also starting its own program.

The Way to Go! program is sponsored by your local Autoplan broker and ICBC. For more information, contact Shelly at 995-0225 or e-mail: waytogo@telus.net. You can order resource kits directly through the Way to Go toll free number, 1-877-325-3636 or visit their website: http://www.waytogo.icbc.bc.ca/.