Surrey Safe and Active School Program

An on-going challenge that many cities face relates to the safety of students as they cross roads, driveways and parking lots around the schools on their daily commute. The constant conflict between students as pedestrians or cyclists and vehicular traffic is a serious concern for all involved during the peak weekday school arrival and dismissal times. To address these concerns, and thereby encourage more students to walk and bike to school and improve their health, the City of Surrey undertook a Safe and Active Schools Program. The engineering component of this program identified the safety issues around each of its schools, developed short to long-term mitigation measures to address the issues, and prioritized the measures throughout the City. The review anticipated a team approach in response to the issues and developed road safety plans that fostered a coordinated effort to improve safety by the City, RCMP, the School District and individual school administration and parents.