School Success Stories

Share your success stories with us! Email us at info@saferoutestoschool.ca with your story, we'd love to hear it.

P.L. Roberston Public School in Milton Ontario's first "walking only" school

P.L. Robertson Public School in Milton set an innovative culture from day one when they opened their doors for the first time. Children here are strongly encouraged to walk, skate or bike for the short trip to and from the school, prompting some to call it the first “walking only” school in Ontario. It helps that 98 per cent of the children who attend the school live within easy walking distance, but for those in outlying areas, there are designated drop-off points that still allow children a healthy walk to reach the school. The capital cost for the designation of this “walking only” school was largely for bicycle racks - enough for 280 bicycles. This unprecedented move built great awareness of the importance of the daily choice to use active school transportation. P.L. Robertson is getting attention around the country and around the world for its innovative measures, appearing in a profusion of news articles from trade papers to general newspapers. Now that’s worthy of attention!

Montgomery Village Public School in Orangeville Olympic-sized commitment to ASRTS

When the school parking lot at Montgomery Village PS became dangerously overcrowded with cars, they felt confident that the choice to close it to non-staff would be good for everyone. “Patty Pylon” and staff members greeted walking and wheeling students with house points every morning. To encourage more parental observation on the streets, the school also awarded points to parents who actively travel with their children (parent points apply to the child’s house team, too). Indeed, they got whole families moving more! Continued reminders that the “kiss and ride” area, the fire lanes and the bus zones were now “No Park Zones” and “No Drop Off Zones” were floated to parents through stories in the school newsletter, signage on the roads and pavement repainting – drivers could not miss the message! By fall, the school was in the active travel groove. They applied for, and won, the Canadian Olympic School Program by pledging to create a better Canada by helping children and their families walk to school safely to improve their overall health and to reduce pollution in the community. The prize included a Run, Jump Throw kit delivered to the school by Olympian Mark Boswell, who was welcomed by a gathering of children, staff, parents and community members. The school is currently working with a town planner to change some parking facilities in an effort to completely eliminate pick up points on school property so that all children will cover some distance on the way to school and learn how to walk safely. In addition, they’re working with the Orangeville police on a Pilot Program called the “School Zone Traffic Safety Program” based on zero-tolerance enforcement of all traffic-related Federal, Provincial and Municipal by-laws. So what’s ahead for Montgomery Village? A Freikometer! The school wants to win this state-of-the-art piece of counting technology so they can be part of the Canadian initiative to create statistics on active school transport. Paying it forward so that others can benefit – Thanks, Montgomery Village!