A Kamloops pediatrician is still hoping to see a car-free safe school zone tried out again in the future after a successful pilot project near Arthur Hatton Elementary in May last year.

Dr. Trent Smith says the Safer School Street initiative aims to reduce congestion during the busier times of the day by trying to encourage people to walk or bike their kids to school instead of driving them.

“I’m not sure that we need to prove the concept, I think that really was done well in the pilot and there have been enough of them now,” Smith said on NL Mornings, noting the Vancouver, Victoria, and Surrey have similar programs in place.

“I think it really does show that it can help kids change the way they get to school and help families feel safe doing so, but it is going rely on a parent community at a school really taking it on and being willing to commit the time and effort.”

The two-week long pilot during the 2022-23 school year led to temporary vehicle restrictions on Schubert Drive and on Chestnut Avenue during pick up and drop off times at Arthur Hatton. Local residents were still able to access their properties as long as they drove at a “walking pace” to ensure safety.

The results of that pilot found that 61 per cent of parents and 70 per cent of staff who were surveyed were in favour of the initiative – which began in Italy in the 1990s – continuing at Arthur Hatton Elementary in the future.

“The results of hands-up surveys showed that significantly more students chose to use active transportation modes during the pilot program,” the City of Kamloops said. “Importantly, students continued to use active transportation modes even after the pilot program concluded.”

Smith says the barriers that will need to be overcome if the initiative is to return are costs and the man hours needed to operate are what could be the challenge.

“It really depends on the level you’re going to do it at,” he said. “Many schools just rely on simple barriers and the cost there is minimal if you have parent volunteers. I don’t know what the barriers cost but under $500 I’m sure for a set for a school all the way up to European cities that have installed permanent retractable bollards that come up automatically out of the street.”

While its not clear when – or if – the initiative will return to a Kamloops-area school, Smith says there was good buy in from all stakeholders – including the City of Kamloops and the Kamloops-Thompson School District – during the pilot.

“I think the biggest success was just the community coming together to show that it is a successful project even in cities that may not necessarily have the same biking culture as some of the bigger urban centres,” Smith said.

You can find the entire Safer School Streets report – including a list of recommendations for future initiatives – here.