This Organization Creates Safer Routes for Sustainable Futures
Discover Green Communities Canada’s School Travel Planning program. It’s helping communities make the daily school run safer — and more sustainable.
By Kate Rae
(Above) Tracey Coutts completed her first year working with Green Communities Canada in November 2025. (Below) Using manual wheelchairs, students take part in a neighbourhood audit to better understand school travel and road safety challenges. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GREEN COMMUNITIES CANADA
Global climate action often begins at the neighbourhood level — transforming paved lots into gardens, switching diesel school buses to electric, digging rain gardens and making older homes more energy-efficient one retrofit at a time. But not every green community project will have the added benefit of making a neighbourhood safer.
Enter Green Communities Canada, a national network that turns big climate goals into hands-on community projects. One program of theirs which does exactly that is School Travel Planning (STP), an initiative that helps families rethink the school run and makes active transportation, like walking and biking, safe, doable and fun.
What are the benefits of green transportation?
The benefits of getting kids walking or rolling to school stack up fast: it’s healthier for them, better for the environment, cheaper than driving, and often much safer. “When we have fewer people driving and more people walking and wheeling, we have fewer interactions between vehicles and vulnerable road users around school zones,” says Tracey Coutts, manager of sustainable mobility at Green Communities Canada. Everything starts with what Coutts calls a champion — a parent, teacher or staff member who’s excited to rally the school community to participate in the program. From there, the STP process kicks into gear with an audit of the school site and surrounding neighbourhood to understand how design and existing facilities impact travel choices. Many fixes are surprisingly simple: “Is there a bike parking area? Outdoor scooter and skateboard storage? Are the pathways well-lit? Are they shovelled in the winter?” says Coutts.
“The benefits of getting kids walking or rolling to school stack up fast: it’s healthier for them, better for the environment, cheaper than driving, and often much safer.”
The impact of sustainable habits
Once the groundwork is done, it’s all about building buy-in from the school, parents, and most importantly, the kids. That can start with a fun Try-It Day, where students are encouraged to walk or wheel just once to see how it feels. Coutts recently helped organize a “Walk and Talk Day,” where she joined a teacher champion and a group of students to “chalk the walk,” covering sidewalks along school routes with colourful, encouraging messages. The result? “A 95% drop in vehicle traffic,” according to Coutts, marking a safety and sustainability win. “When you’re out chalking a walk, you get to talk with a lot of people, and they were elated,” she says. “They loved it. You can do miracles with sidewalk chalk.” CAA
Green Communities Canada’s neighbourhood audits bring together school community members alongside city councillors, school board planners, municipal police and even road safety engineers. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF GREEN COMMUNITIES CANADA
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(From left) Tracey Coutts completed her first year working with Green Communities Canada in November 2025. Using manual wheelchairs, students take part in a neighourhood audit to better understand school travel and road safety challenges. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GREEN COMMUNITIES CANADA
(From top) Tracey Coutts completed her first year working with Green Communities Canada in November 2025. Using manual wheelchairs, students take part in a neighourhood audit to better understand school travel and road safety challenges. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GREEN COMMUNITIES CANADA
Global climate action often begins at the neighbourhood level — transforming paved lots into gardens, switching diesel school buses to electric, digging rain gardens and making older homes more energy-efficient one retrofit at a time. But not every green community project will have the added benefit of making a neighbourhood safer.
Enter Green Communities Canada, a national network that turns big climate goals into hands-on community projects. One program of theirs which does exactly that is School Travel Planning (STP), an initiative that helps families rethink the school run and makes active transportation, like walking and biking, safe, doable and fun.
What are the benefits of green transportation?
The benefits of getting kids walking or rolling to school stack up fast: it’s healthier for them, better for the environment, cheaper than driving, and often much safer. “When we have fewer people driving and more people walking and wheeling, we have fewer interactions between vehicles and vulnerable road users around school zones,” says Tracey Coutts, manager of sustainable mobility at Green Communities Canada. Everything starts with what Coutts calls a champion — a parent, teacher or staff member who’s excited to rally the school community to participate in the program. From there, the STP process kicks into gear with an audit of the school site and surrounding neighbourhood to understand how design and existing facilities impact travel choices. Many fixes are surprisingly simple: “Is there a bike parking area? Outdoor scooter and skateboard storage? Are the pathways well-lit? Are they shovelled in the winter?” says Coutts.
“The benefits of getting kids walking or rolling to school stack up fast: it’s healthier for them, better for the environment, cheaper than driving, and often much safer.”
The impact of sustainable habits
Once the groundwork is done, it’s all about building buy-in from the school, parents, and most importantly, the kids. That can start with a fun Try-It Day, where students are encouraged to walk or wheel just once to see how it feels. Coutts recently helped organize a “Walk and Talk Day,” where she joined a teacher champion and a group of students to “chalk the walk,” covering sidewalks along school routes with colourful, encouraging messages. The result? “A 95% drop in vehicle traffic,” according to Coutts, marking a safety and sustainability win. “When you’re out chalking a walk, you get to talk with a lot of people, and they were elated,” she says. “They loved it. You can do miracles with sidewalk chalk.” CAA