Stepping It Up Project
The Stepping It Up pilot project used the Canadian School Travel
Planning (STP) model and Smart Commute workplace program to promote
active and sustainable modes of school travel for students, families and
staff. It was delivered at 30 elementary schools in the cities of
Hamilton, Brampton, and Mississauga. The project received funding from
Transport Canada’s ecoMOBILITY program, and was led by Metrolinx in
partnership with the Region of Peel, City of Hamilton, Green Communities
Canada and the University of Toronto.
At the school level, facilitators worked directly with school
administrators and municipal partners to implement low cost actions,
such as dedicated walk to school days; organized walking groups;
crossing guard services; crosswalk markings and bicycle racks; and
walking route maps and signage.
At the end of the project in December 2011, it is estimated that
Stepping It Up pilot schools collectively achieved:
• an overall average decrease in school car trips of 7% in the
morning period and 3% in the afternoon period, with an equivalent
increase in pedestrian trips,
• an additional 746,700 minutes of walking among students annually, and
• the prevention of 101,635 vehicle kilometres travelled, 22 tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions (i.e. CO2 equivalent) and 884 kg of air
pollutants annually.
Principals, teachers and parents also observed that:
• students were excited about walking to school and were getting more
physical activity on the trip to/from school,
• conditions during the morning school run became safer and more
orderly,
• walking or cycling to school had become more convenient, and
• people driving around the school were more aware of children walking
and cycling.
At the GTHA level, project workshops involving more than 200
stakeholders demonstrated that provincial ministries, school boards,
municipalities, school administrators, parents and students all have an
important role to play in school travel. While school travel planning is
a collaborative approach that is flexible enough to be applied on a
broader scale, to be sustainable, its efforts need to work within a
policy, planning, and servicing context that supports active modes of
transportation.
Read the Stepping It Up final report
here.
Stepping It Up Project - Partners & Funders