Correspondence: Pilot School Travel Planning Coordinator Position

Mayor Graham Hill 296 Eltham Road Esquimalt, BC V9B 1J9

July 31, 2014

Dear Mayor Hill,

At our Governance and Priorities Committee meeting on July 24, 2014, Victoria City Council voted to write to the CRD to endorse a pilot School Travel Planning Coordinator position for the Greater Victoria School District No. 61 for the 2014-2015 school year. As a municipality with schools in School District 61, I encourage View Royal to write to the CRD showing your support for a School Travel Planning Coordinator for the District. A copy of Victoria's letter to the CRD is enclosed.

Partnerships with our local schools offer a great opportunity to advance the CRD's vision for a regional transportation system where walking, cycling and transit are viable alternatives to driving alone. Students are the next generation of commuters and we hope that developing the knowledge, skills and confidence to cycle to school will help them to become the healthy, active, environmentally-friendly commuters of today and tomorrow.

Today, more children travel to school by car than ever before. With increasing childhood obesity and mental health issues, simply getting children outside and walking or cycling to school could be an easy remedy to these and a host of other issues. Neighbourhood complaints about traffic, parking, and vehicle congestion around schools are consuming staff time at schools and municipalities.

Like many other communities in BC, we can tackle these troubling issues through a School Travel Planning process. By hiring a local School Travel Planning Coordinator, the CRD can pilot the process in up to five schools per year in the region. This process has shown incredible results in communities across BC, reducing families driving to school by 20% or more, even in the first year of the program.

The City of Victoria shares the Greater Victoria School District with four other municipalities, and therefore cannot approach this issue on our own. This is an issue we can address at the Regional District level and fits perfectly within the Regional Transportation Planning process which calls for the CRD to accelerate Active and Safe Routes to Schools (ASRTS) programs.

By working with schools, together we can support children and youth to develop the skills, confidence and passion needed to become the next generation of cyclists. I encourage you to write a letter to the Capital Regional District requesting their support for a pilot School Travel Planning Coordinator position for the Greater Victoria School District No. 61 for the 2014-2015 school year.

Sincerely,

Dean Fortin MAYOR

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Kevin Lorette General Manager of Planning and Protective Services Capital Regional District

July 31, 2014

Dear Mr. Lorette,

On behalf of Victoria City Council, I am writing to encourage the CRD to implement a pilot School Travel Planning Coordinator position for the Greater Victoria School District No. 61 for the 2014-2015 school year.

We commend the CRD's vision for a regional transportation system where walking, cycling and transit are viable alternatives to driving alone. Partnerships with our local schools offer a great opportunity to advance this goal, and the CRD's draft Regional Transportation Plan and Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan both call for the CRD to accelerate Active and Safe Routes to Schools (ASRTS) programs.

Students are the next generation of commuters and we hope that developing the knowledge, skills and confidence to cycle to school will help them to become the healthy, active, environmentally-friendly commuters of today and tomorrow. With the CRD's Pedestrian and Cycling Master Plan's target of 15% mode share for cycling by 2038, schools are a logical partner in achieving this goal.

Today, more children travel to school by car than ever before. The removal of catchment rules, closure of many schools, and the creation of the middle school system has increased the distance children travel to school. With increasing childhood obesity and mental health issues, simply getting children outside and walking or cycling to school could be an easy remedy to these and a host of other issues. Neighbourhood complaints about traffic, parking, and vehicle congestion around schools are consuming staff time at schools, and the City.

Like many other cities in BC, we can tackle these troubling issues through a School Travel Planning process developed by HASTe, the Hub for Active School Travel, a non-profit based in Vancouver, BC. By hiring a local School Travel Planning Coordinator, the CRD can pilot the process in up to five schools per year in the region. This process has shown incredible results in communities across BC, reducing families driving to school by 20% or more, even in the first year of the program.

With the CRD considering a Regional Transportation Plan, and an emphasis on travel support and educational programs for schools, it's time we work together on a solution. By supporting a CRD School Travel Planning Coordinator position, we can:

• increase education about cycling,
• increase the confidence of cyclists, especially school-aged cyclists,
• ensure children arrive at school alert and awake, and ready to learn,
• reduce childhood health issues, both physical and mental,
• make our streets less congested with vehicle traffic, thereby reducing wear and tear on roads, improving air quality, reducing noise and air pollution,
• increase safety for all ages of pedestrians and cyclists,
• reduce our region's carbon footprint,
• develop active travel habits in families, improving the health and well-being of the community.

The City of Victoria shares the Greater Victoria School District with four other municipalities, and therefore cannot approach this issue on our own. In addition, the CRD has a growing population of students attending independent schools. This is an issue we can address at the Regional District level, and fits perfectly within the Regional Transportation Planning process.

The City of Victoria recently completed several months of public engagement around cycling in the city. Throughout this process, "safety" was the most common identified barrier to cycling for current and prospective cyclists. One of the top recommendations to increase the safety of cyclists was to increase education and increase the confidence of cyclists. The City has committed $300 to support Bike to School Week initiatives at twelve Greater Victoria schools during the 2014-2015 school year and we have identified priority projects in our cycling network to increase accessibility for riders of all ages and abilities.

By working with schools, together we can support children and youth to develop the skills, confidence and passion needed to become the next generation of cyclists. We encourage the Capital Regional District to show their support for Active and Safe Routes to Schools (ASRTS) programs by implementing a pilot School Travel Planning Coordinator position for the Greater Victoria School District No. 61 for the 2014-2015 school year.

Sincerely,

Dean Fortin MAYOR

Cc. Superintendent Sherri Bell, Greater Victoria School District No. 61 Mayor Frank Leonard, District of Saanich Mayor Nils Jensen, District of Oak Bay Mayor Barb Desjardins, Township of Esquimalt Mayor Graham Hill, Town of View Royal