Here's why there's a push to get rid of cars at dropoff and pickup
Scientists say car-free zones boost safety but making them last has been challenging
As Lily Dejnicki prepares to get back to the classroom, she hopes to see fewer cars during the morning and afternoon rush hours outside her school.
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she → be → school
The 13-year-old would like to see the return of a pilot project to get cars out of the regular dropoff zone at her school, Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary in Mississauga, Ont.
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old → like → Mississauga
As part of the School Streets project promoted by a non-profit environmental association, volunteers directed cars away during dropoff and pickup times by using barricades and signs.
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volunteers → promote → barricades
Kids and parents were encouraged to cycle and walk to and from school, as opposed to driving.
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Kids → encourage → school
"It was lots of fun," said Lily, who is going into Grade 8.
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who → say → Grade
"Kids … wouldn't rush home," she said.
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she → rush → ?
"Instead, they would … take a couple minutes to play and stuff outside."
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they → take → minutes
Anita Dejnicki, Lily’s mom, sits on the school’s parental advisory council and said more parents were talking to each other and more kids were active and playing compared to before.
"
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kids → sit → other
Once it ended, it just seemed like it was quiet again."
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it → end → ?
As the school year starts, environmental association Green Communities Canada is continuing its efforts to implement School Streets across the country.
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Canada → start → country
The pilot at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary, which ran for a month, is part of a bigger push led by the organization called the National Active School Streets Initiative.
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which → run → organization
It received $3 million in funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2024.
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It → receive → 2024
At least 20 School Streets are planned for the 2026-2027 academic year.
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Streets → plan → year
Over the past few years, they have been piloted in six provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
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they → pilot → provinces
Nicole Roach, sustainable mobility director at Green Communities Canada, said School Streets usually take the form of a temporary barrier installed on both ends of one street next to a school.
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Streets → say → school
The street is typically one that is not on a major thoroughfare or one that is going to cause issues for buses or students with disabilities, she said.
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she → go → disabilities
For those who need to drive, one alternative is to drive to a nearby parking area and walk together the rest of the way, Roach said.
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Roach → need → way
Roach points to safety and air pollution from cars as among the reasons to implement School Streets.
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Roach → point → Streets
"Many schools at pickup and dropoff are just absolute chaos," she said.
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she → say → pickup
"We see a lot of dangerous driving behaviour, really unsafe environments for the children walking or wheeling or even just getting to their vehicle for pickup."
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We → see → pickup
Lily, who walks to and from school, said the usual lines of cars at dropoff and pickup can be bothersome.
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lines → walk → dropoff
"It would kind of be not … too safe because it would be really, really crowded," she said.
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she → say → ?
"Most of my friends … liked [the School Street].
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Most → like → Street
But some people didn't really like it.
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people → like → it
They would … say that there's no point in doing it."
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They → say → it
Although it's estimated that at least 36 schools across Canada have tested School Streets, implementing them long-term has proven challenging.
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implementing → estimate → them
Just two permanent, year-round School Streets exist, and at least one pilot ground to a halt after pushback.
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pilot → exist → pushback
Last year, a School Street project at Corliss Public School in Mississauga was cancelled after a parent started a petition, raising concerns about safety and disruption.
"Every day, children and parents are forced to navigate confusing road closures and restricted areas, which not only causes delays but also increases the risk of accidents," the petition, which collected nearly 200 signatures, said.
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which → cancel → signatures
"The setup leads to congestion in nearby areas, forcing parents to opt for potentially unsafe detours or parking in locations that are less supervised."
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that → lead → locations
Kerstyn Lutz, who studied four School Street pilots in the Greater Toronto Area in 2022, recalls witnessing disruption first-hand.
"At least at the beginning, [it] felt like chaos.
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it → study → chaos
You have cars driving up to these barriers, they don't know what to do," said Lutz, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto at the time of her research.
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Lutz → have → research
"We have to have vehicle diversion plans….
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We → have → plans
The reality is not everyone is going to walk.
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everyone → go → ?
"
What do the experts say?
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experts → say → What
But Raktim Mitra, an urban planning professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who studies sustainable transportation behaviour, said there’s no evidence to suggest School Streets push congestion onto nearby roads or lead to more unsafe driving.
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Streets → study → driving
Over the past year, Mitra collected data on travel patterns close to two School Streets pilots in Mississauga.
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Mitra → collect → Mississauga
More cars drove below the designated speed on the street, and a "significantly" higher number of cars were yielding to pedestrians in nearby streets, he said.
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he → drive → streets
As for clogging up nearby streets, Mitra said none of the data suggests that to be a likely problem.
uncertain
that → clog → data
"None of the nearby roads … reached a congested condition.
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None → reach → condition
"
While children who travel to school by themselves may encounter more people, there's no evidence that more walking as a result of such an initiative would lead to more potentially problematic interactions with strangers, said Lewis Smith, spokesperson for the Canada Safety Council.
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Smith → travel → Council
…and 18 more, not listed.
