A Victoria road outside an elementary school was closed before and after school for student as part of Sir James Douglas’s Walk and Wheel to School Week.

On May 29, the school closed a small section of Thurlow Road that lies between Moss Street and the school’s staff parking lot for 45 minutes at drop-off and pick-up times with parents and children required to arrive on foot or by bike. The ‘School Street’ was the first to be organized in the CRD.

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“It was a huge success and the school children loved not having traffic immediately in front of the school and being able to play and cycle on the road at the beginning and end of the school day,” said Katherine Brandt, a parent and volunteer on SJD’s Active Travel Committee.

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She says ‘school streets’ make the roads around schools safer and healthier for children and reduce their exposure to air pollution adding that she believes this was the first ‘school street’ in the province. According to Brandt the City of Victoria has included considering the implementation of ‘school streets’ in its 2019-2022 Strategic Plan.