Kids and adults walking on a sidewalk through a sunny neighbourhood

Slow down and watch for students walking, biking, and rolling back to school next week

August 29 2025 –

With school back in session next week, the City is reminding drivers to be careful and look out for children and other pedestrians walking, biking, and rolling to and from school.  
 
“Whether you’re behind the wheel, on a bike, or walking, road safety is a shared responsibility. While it's important to exercise caution at all times of the year, the September return to school is a time to be extra vigilant,” said Mayor Ken Sim. “Kids are excited to get back to class and see their friends and teachers, and we want to make sure they get to school safely every day. Let’s all do our part to keep school zones safe.” 

Pedestrian safety near schools   

To help ensure areas around schools are a safe place to walk, bike and roll, drivers are reminded to:  

  • Budget extra time to safely travel during your commute.  
  • Follow all posted signs and adhere to 30 km/h and 40 km/h school slow zones.  
  • Respect the school’s pick up and drop off designated areas and adhere to all no stopping signage.  
  • Consider parking a five-minute walk away and walking children to the school.   
  • Yield to pedestrians at intersections and remain stopped until pedestrians reach the other side of the curb.  
  • Respect all safety patrols around schools in Vancouver.  
  • Leave at least one metre of space when passing pedestrians, cyclists, and people using e-mobility devices.  
  • Yield to buses at bus stops who may be picking up or dropping off students. Under the BC Motor Vehicle Act, drivers must yield to TransLink vehicles when they give a signal or display the intention to re-enter the flow of traffic. 

The City has a number of safety-focused programs to help support pedestrians and students throughout the school year, including:   

School Slow Zones  

To enhance safety for elementary students and encourage drivers to slow down around schools, School Slow Zones reduce vehicle speed limits to 40 km/h on arterial streets and 30 km/h on collector streets between 8 am and 5 pm on school days. Custom signs and road markings will be installed in early fall in 12 school zones covering 15 schools.  

Walking School Bus  

Designed to reduce congestion near schools, the Walking School Bus program is back for a fifth year. A Walking School Bus is a group of students who travel to and from school each day along a designated route, stopping along the way to pick up more students. Adult walk leaders accompany each group.   

School Streets  

The School Streets program keeps a block beside a school open for walking, biking, and rolling during designated hours on school days. During that time, motor vehicles are not permitted to drive along the block. School Streets are currently found at Lord Selkirk and General Gordon Elementary schools.  

Walk Bike Roll Mini-Grant  

The City offers Walk Bike Roll mini-grants of up to $1,500 to elementary and secondary schools to encourage and promote students safely walking, biking or rolling to school. Applications open at the end of September.   

Plan ahead for construction-related traffic impacts  

Road work and construction continues throughout Vancouver during the back-to-school season with ongoing critical rehabilitation, renewal and development projects underway that will impact city streets. Here are some projects with significant traffic impacts underway this fall: 

  • Drake St Upgrades: The final phase of work to install a new bike lane on Drake Street is now underway, with completion anticipated for spring 2026. Watch for intersection closures as work progresses from block to block between Granville Street and Pacific Boulevard, and at the Burrard Street intersection.  
  • Granville Bridge south ramps rehabilitation project: Construction continues on the south end of the bridge, with phased ramp closures in place until summer 2026. This planned maintenance work on the ramps used to enter and exit the bridge on the south side includes concrete repairs, deck joint replacement, and bearing replacement work. Granville Connector opened in July. 
  • West 49th and Alberta sewer separation upgrades: W 49th Avenue and Ontario Street will remain closed until Winter 2025. Buses to Langara College remain operational with detours as necessary.  
  • Arbutus Ridge Water Main Replacement: Starting September, there will be single-lane traffic in each direction on Arbutus St from West 34th Avenue and West 35th Avenue with reduced speeds.  
  • Metro Vancouver Columbia Street Sewer Repairs : Sewer repairs are ongoing until early 2026 with single-lane closures along West 2nd Avenue from Alberta Street to Columbia Street into September. 
  • Broadway Subway: Construction continues on the Millennium Line SkyTrain extension, with some traffic pattern changes at the six station sites on Great Northern Way and Broadway. 

To keep ahead of other traffic impacts happening across the city, visit vancouver.ca/roadahead for the latest updates on road closures and construction projects.   

Resources  

Drivers travelling in and around school zones or construction areas should plan ahead and expect delays.