1. School Travel Planning Program -
request for Provincial Support and Funding

Demande de soutien et de financement auprès de la province
pour le programme de Planification du transport scolaire

Committee RecommendationS

That Council:

1. Approve that the City of Ottawa request that the Province of Ontario make this initiative a priority for the school children of the Province and commit for providing support and funding for a Provincial School Travel Planning Program, and;

2. Recommend that the Ontario Government adopt the recommendation contained in the Green Communities Canada’s “Saving Time and Money with Active School Travel” report.

RecommandationS DU Comité

Que le Conseil :

1. approuve une demande faite par la Ville d’Ottawa à la Province de l’Ontario visant à faire de cette initiative une priorité pour les enfants d’école de la province et à s’engager à offrir du soutien et du financement pour le programme provincial de Planification du transport scolaire, et;

2. recommande au gouvernement de l’Ontario l’adoption de la recommandation présentée dans le rapport sur le Transport scolaire actif permettant des économies en temps et en argent de Green Communities Canada.

Documentation

1. Community and Protective Services Committee report dated 16 September 2010 (ACS2010-CMR-CPS-0032).

2. Extract of Draft Minute, 16 September 2010.

Report to / Rapport au :

Council / au Conseil

16 September 2010 / le 16 septembre 2010

Submitted by/Soumis par : Community and Protective Services Committee

Comité des services communautaires et de protection

Contact Person / Personne ressource : Christopher Zwierzchowski,

A/Committee Coordinator, City Clerk and Solicitor’s Department / Coordonnateur de comité intérimaire, Bureau de greffier municipal et chef du contentieux

(613) 580-2424, ext. / poste 21359 Christopher.Zwierzchowski@ottawa.ca

City-wide / À l'échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2010-CMR-CPS-0032

SUBJECT:

School Travel Planning Program -
request for Provincial Support and Funding

OBJET :

Demande de soutien et de financement auprès de
la province pour le programme de Planification
du transport scolaire

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That Council:

2. Recommend that the Ontario Government adopt the recommendation contained in the Green Communities Canada’s “Saving Time and Money with Active School Travel” report.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Conseil:

BACKGROUND

At the 16 September 2010 meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee, arising from a presentation by Green Communities Canada regarding a new “School Travel Planning” pilot project for the City of Ottawa, Councillor Holmes submitted the following motion for Committee approval and consideration by Council at its meeting of 22 September 2010:

Whereas getting school children to walk or cycle to school has tremendous health benefits for them and our society;

Whereas currently the Provincial Government provides no support or funding for this very worthwhile program;

Therefore Be It Resolved that:

1. The City of Ottawa request that the Province of Ontario make this initiative a priority for the school children of the Province and commit for providing support and funding for a Provincial School Travel Planning Program

2. Recommend that the Ontario Government adopt the recommendation contained in the Green Communities Canada’s Saving Time and Money with Active School Travel report.

DISCUSSION

At its meeting of 16 September 2010, the Community and Protective Services Committee unanimously supported the above recommendations and directed that they be forwarded for Council’s consideration at its meeting of 22 September 2010.

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

Staff will be available to provide comment or respond to questions, as required.

CONSULTATION

This item was advertised in the local dailies as part of the Public Meeting Advertisement on the Friday preceding the meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee at which it was originally considered.

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendations in this Report.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications associated with the recommendations in this report.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 - Fact Sheet Re: Green Communities Canada School Travel Planning Pilot Project

DISPOSITION

Staff to take appropriate action as directed by Council.

DOCUMENT 1

GCC-LogoRGB-Sm

School Travel Planning Project – Ottawa
Information Sheet

· Green Communities Canada : a non-profit organization with many years experience working with schools across Ontario to promote active transportation (walking, cycling).

· School Travel Planning (STP) project approved and supported by all school boards, the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Police Service, and the Ottawa Safety Council.

· Introduce to 12 schools (8 elementary, 4 secondary) in the Ottawa area in 2009-2011.

· A community-based tool and process that has been used with success in other cities and countries to increase the number of children and their parents choosing active transportation to get to and from school.

· Brings together schools (parents, educators, children), school boards, the municipality, police and others to work with an STP Facilitator to identify and implement long-term solutions to a school’s transportation problems.

· Each school develops a School Travel Plan containing measures to support active transportation such as:

o installation of bike racks

o walking & cycling safety training for students

o implementing “walking school bus” or “walking buddy” programs

o celebrations of physical activity and the environment (ex. special events, prizes)

o engineering improvements at or near school sites (ex. adult crossing guards, sidewalk repairs, signage improvements)

· Benefits of STP:

o improved student health & fitness

o increased safety

o reduced congestion and less school staff time spent dealing with traffic issues

o environmental: a “greener” school with improved air quality, less pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions

o help parents to save on gas and school boards to reduce bussing costs (where children are bussed due to safety rather than distance)

· STP Process:

The STP Facilitator guides and assists each school through the following steps:

1. Establish a school STP committee comprised of school staff, parents, interested community members and possibly students; determine project timeline.

2. Data Collection & Problem Identification: student and family surveys; school traffic count; school site visit & walkabout; analyze data collected; summarize key issues.

3. Create an action plan: to deal with the identified problems and achieve stated objectives

4. Implementation – carry out the action items.

5. Ongoing Monitoring – second round of date collection to evaluate progress and refine the plan as necessary.

School’s Responsibilities

o Staff Time: principal (or his/her representative) and at least one teacher participate in all school STP committee meetings; additional staff time may be needed during data collection and implementation of some action items.

o Parent Time: parents play a key role as active members of the school STP committee, during data collection and analysis, and during implementation of some action items.

o Meeting Space: use of a room to hold school STP committee meetings.

o Enthusiasm and Commitment: the success of School Travel Planning relies on “champions” within the school.

o Student Time (optional): some schools may wish to use STP as a learning opportunity, linking aspects of the process to the curriculum (ex. students administer and tabulate the in-class surveys as a math exercise

Support

A dedicated STP Facilitator who will guide your committee through the process (expertise, coordinate project activities, links to resources, liaise with community stakeholders)

Honorarium of $2000

o STP project steering committee with expertise and resources to assist with the implementation of your action plan.

o Resources: model letters, surveys and school travel plans; access to existing active school travel information and promotional tools etc.

For more information:

Wallace Beaton

Coordinator, School Travel Planning – Ottawa & Eastern Ontario

613.314.3551 / wbeaton@greencommunitiescanada.org

Green Communities Canada gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the City of Ottawa, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, and the Community Foundation of Ottawa (David & Susan Rose Fund), for this initiative.

School Travel Planning Program -
request for Provincial Support and Funding

Demande de soutien et de financement auprès
de la province pour le programme de Planification
du transport scolaire

ACS2010-CMR-CPS-0032 CITY-WIDE / À L’ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE

Chair Deans welcomed Mr. Wallace Beaton, Coordinator, School Travel Planning, Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, Green Communities Canada (GCC), who presented a PowerPoint slide presentation (held on file with the City Clerk) which served to provide an overview of GCC’s School Travel Planning (STP) initiative.

Referencing the concept of a Walking School Bus, which allows children to travel to and from school safely, in the care of volunteers, Councillor Feltmate said this idea had been considered in Kanata, but noted that it is predicated on volunteer coordination. She asked the speaker if, as part of this pilot project, there would be an evaluation or additional research performed on whether such programs are supported or complemented by school crossing guard programs.

Mr. Beaton explained that the City-funded adult crossing guard program can be a key component of increasing active travel to school, particularly for schools that currently do not have such service. He said that as part of the GCC’s ongoing surveys, families whose children do not currently walk to school would be asked to provide reasons for same; the information gleaned from such surveys can help identify intersections that are of concern due to traffic volumes or other safety reasons. Mr. Beaton said this could potentially lead to such schools being considered for a crossing guard. He added that many schools are looking for crossing guards, and that the request list is long, as such service is perceived as beneficial in helping to create opportunities to walk, for children who currently do not, because of intersections that may be considered too dangerous.

Councillor Holmes noted she was familiar with such initiatives, formed on an ad hoc volunteer basis which, without adequate coordination, are not sustainable in the long term. Citing programs such as the Province of Québec’s Vélo Québec, she pointed out that that province is funding programs similar to those of the GCC, and she suggested the Committee move a Motion to ask the Province of Ontario to investigate and fund similar programs, which she praised as being of enormous benefit. Acknowledging that area School Boards are extensively involved with the busing of school children, Councillor Holmes said the School Boards have never asked the City to install traffic lights or sidewalks in areas where they may be of benefit to children walking to school. She hoped that this pilot program would result in requests for such works, based on user feedback. The Councillor said she would move that the City ask the Province to fund the STP program with a view towards greater coordination of volunteer agencies. She said that while having the City contribute financially is of benefit, having the Province assume a greater coordinating role is key, as a function it should be performing Province-wide. Mr. Beaton suggested a review of the GCC’s Saving Time and Money report could provide possible wording for such a Motion, as it speaks to the imbalance between $800 million-worth of funding from the Ministry of Education to School Boards for school transportation (i.e., busing) versus no funding for active transportation (i.e., walking, cycling programs).

Councillor Qadri observed that increasing costs to School Boards have put pressures on certain neighbourhoods, resulting in safety issues to pedestrians or cyclists due to increased traffic on some streets near schools, especially where sidewalks are lacking. He suggested that from a Planning perspective, long-term planning for schools in ‘walkable’ areas should include considerations for the construction of sidewalks within a certain radius or distance of such schools, preferably at the time of the school’s construction. Further to this, the Councillor raised the point that such sidewalks need to be made a priority for regular maintenance due to their use as walkable school routes. Councillor Qadri also noted that not all available routes are used due to parents’ fears over visibility and/or safety concerns, i.e., the Trans-Canada Trail in Stittsville.

Mr. Beaton acknowledged the Councillor’s points, and said that ongoing work was required with stakeholders to work out school action plans to identify and resolve such concerns. He said he would be making a similar presentation to the Board of Trustees of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to emphasize that School Boards have a role to play, from school siting when plans of subdivision are being considered, to perhaps establishing and maintaining pathways instead of drop-off zones, etc.

Councillor Bédard believed that rather than composing a quick resolution with overly broad recommendations immediately, it might be wiser to examine the group’s overall recommendations with a view towards crafting a Councillor’s Report for future Committee consideration or inviting the group back, with a view towards dealing with this matter in a more comprehensive fashion, as there was no urgency to this matter.

Chair Deans suggested the matter could be referred to the next Council meeting with the potential for greater discussion at Council to elaborate the points which the Committee wishes to see the Province address more fully.

Councillor Bédard said he too was familiar with such programs in Sandy Hill, and concurred with Councillor Holmes that they work well when volunteers are available. He also supported the need to have such initiatives properly coordinated, acknowledging that this requires funding. The Councillor also observed that in addition to inadequate uptake by local School Boards and the Province, City staff often view requests to implement traffic and safety measures negatively, as they are often seen as not being in compliance with established policies. Councillor Bédard said he was unsure of how to deal with such responses, which he viewed as an internal staff problem, offering that he could address such matters before the Transportation Committee. The Councillor emphasized the importance of open-mindedness when dealing with traffic and travel-related issues in order to protect children. He said the City needs to clean up its own part in addition to expecting the School Boards and Province to do the same.

Councillor Holmes echoed Councillor Bédard’s view, and suggested that such problems be brought to the City’s Transportation Committee for resolution, an avenue she said she had taken many times, further suggesting that if staff would not understand the need to put in requested safety measures for schools and pedestrians, Committee members would.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Committee, Chair Deans thanked Mr. Beaton for his presentation and efforts as a parent volunteer and wished him continued success with his endeavours.

Councillor Holmes submitted the following Motion for the Committee’s consideration, partly drafted with input from the presenter.

Whereas getting school children to walk or cycle to school has tremendous health benefits for them and our society;

AND Whereas currently the Provincial Government provides no support or funding for this very worthwhile program;

Therefore Be It Resolved That:

2. Recommend that the Ontario Government adopt the recommendation contained in the Green Communities Canada’s Saving Time and Money with Active School Travel report.

Committee indicated its concurrence; there being no further discussion, the Committee received the report and approved the Motion, to be forwarded for Council’s consideration at its meeting of 22 September 2010.

Moved by Councillor D. Holmes:

That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend that Council:

2. Recommend that the Ontario Government adopt the recommendation contained in the Green Communities Canada’s Saving Time and Money with Active School Travel report.

CARRIED