SD73 DPAC seeking community feedback after receiving grant for proposed School Streets project

School Streets project eyed

Photo: KTW file

Schubert Drive runs past Arthur Hatton Elementary School in North Kamloops.

The District Parent Advisory Council of the Kamloops-Thompson School District is looking for community feedback on where to take grant funds it's secured for a proposed School Streets project.

Chair Bonnie McBride told Castanet the DPAC has secured a $20,000 School Streets grant from Green Communities Canada, and work to identify a month-long project is now underway.

“Ideally for us, that would be a school-based active transportation safer street initiative that brings awareness to the neighbourhood and to the school community about different ways they can navigate school pickup and drop off, with maybe less direct single-student drop offs,” McBride said.

In 2023, SD73 piloted a two-week Safer School Streets program that restricted traffic near Arthur Hatton elementary between pickup and drop-off times, with the goal of promoting safety and encouraging healthier lifestyles.

McBride said the DPAC is looking for community feedback on where the new School Streets project could be held and what it would look like, adding that it ideally would resemble the 2023 pilot.

She said the DPAC wants to ensure it has buy-in from potential neighbourhoods impacted, as well as the school's community.

She said several schools and the City of Kamloops have expressed interest in partnering on the project.

“We’re actively seeking support from the school district to help us partner with a school community,” McBride said.

“But we have already had meetings with the rest of those partners who were active in the 2023 project, and we know that we have capacity to move forward.”

A report by the city, SD73 and Interior Health following the 2023 pilot found 61 per cent of parents and 70 per cent of staff surveyed supported the program continuing. It said the city was looking to continue to expand the program in partnership with SD73.

During a joint-meeting between the city and SD73 last year, Coun. Nancy Bepple called the program a “huge success” and asked that SD73 consider running the program again.

McBride said two DPAC volunteers are currently taking part in a national training program for the grant, where they’re learning how other communities and organizations have implemented their projects.

“Wherever we end up finding a space to move forward in, that’s going to be a big part of what we decide the project’s going to look like,” she said.

“The sky’s the limit in terms of what we can do, in terms of educating and advocating and giving people opportunities to try new ways to get to school.”